Approved For Release 2000/08/11 Practicing In a addition dig, to a the Viking biology lander instrument at and t1re-Jet two Propulsion' cameras, Laboratory the (above~ jeep-size ;~Oe-ffds lander carries its other surface devices sampler (below) over to sim- ulated sample Martian weather, rocks-Sty- analyze rofoam-to soil scoop and simulated atmosphere, and re- Martian cord soil---earth any sand. seismic tremors. T In Data IS PAGE this from manner, the techni- tests are H . stored cians on rehearsed magnetic operations tape, FOLDS OUT on then earth transmitted before to Viking the per- or- formed biter them for on relay Mars. to earth. HIGH-GAIN ANTENNA CAMERA TEST TA RGET SEISMOMETER BIOLOGY PROCESSOR GAS CHROMATOGRAPH LOW-GAIN MASS SPECTROMETER ANTENNA PROCESSCIR LIHF ANTENNA PIVOTING AMERA METEOROLOC ASSEMBLY TERM INAL-DESCENT INGINE FOOTPAD PIVOTING CAMERA BOOM COLLECTOR HEAD-0i S~SED ON MARTIN MARIETTA CORPORATION DRAWING gA-MAGNET NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ART DIVISION Approved For Release 2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0700490001-7 ,4W.4"', -AL -95" 95 vo Z g4 72:, ,7P W~l Av Approved For Release 2000/08/11 CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0700490001-7 20rbiter releases lander' inside aeroshell Ferry mission complete, the orbiter will continue to circle Mars, snapping high- resolution photographs of the planet's surface for up to two years. Lai 3 Lan&~Tftpi,-over; de-orbit engines fire maps 4Entry into the Martian atmosphere 5 Parachute deploys and 4 aeroshell shield jettisons at 19,400 feet Viking 1 0 Terminal-descent landing site engines fire at Chryse Planitia, 4,600 feet 22.4o N., 48.0' hove touchdown! 0 ENTER ORBIT, Viking I fires its braking engine (1). Landing-site safety check complete, T the orbiter releases the lander, cocooned in a sau- cerlike, protective aeroshell (2). Since it takes as long as 22 minutes for a radio signal to reach Mars from earth, a computer in the lander masterminds the landing sequence. First, it ignites the de-orbit engines that nudge PAINTING BY PIERRE INION the aeroshell out of orbit and into a landing tra- jectory (3). As the acroshell plunges into the Mar- tian atmosphere, frictional temperatures up to ],Soo' Celsius (2,730' F.) sear the ablative shield (4). When the acroshell has slowed to less than 600 miles an hour, the computer deploys a parachute for further braking and jettisons the protective shield (5). Later, the parachute is released. Terminal-descent engines (6) slow the lander to five mph and triumphant touchdown (7). Approved For Release 2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0700490001-7 13 landing site Utopia Planitia, 48.0 N., 225.7' W. C14 a) I- 0 a) 00 0 CI4 4) 0 LL > 0 L_ CL CL a y H "I almost expected to see camels," said a Viking scientist of the windswept, rock-strewn landscape at Chryse Planitia, remarkably similar to deserts on earth. Geologists cata- loged an unexpected variety of rocks, from basalts to breccias, from pebbles to a ten-foot- LLTRAVIOLET FILTER CARBON-14 DETECTOR Is food manufactuped? The pyrolytic release (PR) experiment looks VENT for micro- organisms which, like plants ORGANIC photosynthesizing on earth, VAPORTRAP turn carbon gases in the air ADD SOIL into carbon-based, organic AND INCUBATE molecules. 120 HOURS Soil is placed in a thumb-size chamber (A). Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are added, made l FIRST COUNT WCO UN T J of traceable radioactive carbon 14. The soil incubates beneath a lamp Y W that simulates t~ Martian sunlight, minus its ultraviolet ! rays. Any microorganisms ! should take up the radioactive gases. The chamber HEAT TO is heated (B) TTO to pyrolyze, or &~co,- decompose, any microbes present into organic gases. These gases are forced into SECOND COUNT the organic vapor trap, which lets other gases I pass through to a radiation detector 1111:: for a first count. Higher heating (C) then releases organic F vapors so that they, too, escape. HEAT TO If these vapors 700 oC. prove radioactive, : C they probably come from living organisms. DIAGRAMS BY PIERRE MION AND ELIE SABBANWO long boulder, left. Though Viking I landed during Martian summer, weather instruments atop the meteorology boom, center, recorded frigid temperatures: a low of -86' C. (-123' F.) just after sunrise, a high of -3 1' C. (-24' F.) in midafternoon. Winds were light. 0 CARBON - 14 DETECTOR OUNT \ - BIACKGROUND Is food consumed? HEATER VENT A B C RADIATION Living organisms must eat to sustain life. ~ As they convert food into energy and tissue, they release gases, including carbon dioxide. ~ In the labeled TII release (LR)' NUTRIENT N U RESERVOIR experiment, radioactive RE nutr`ient El AND INJECTOR A KS) I is added to a soil sample in the CONTINUECOUNT hope that something will digest ADD it and give off NUTRIENT radioactive car-bon dioxide. ~ A count is made (A) to determine any background radiation prior 9 to the test. - Martian atmosphere and soil ADD are added to the SOIL chamber, and D~ AND the Iatter is INCUBATE sprayed with I tiny ZND - 'B) drops of nutrient k - As with h gases in the PIR experiment, t ' CONTINUE these carbon compounds COUNT ADD contain radioactive MORE carbon 14. NUTRIENT As the soil incubates, ~ a detector looks for a rise in radioactivity, indicating Martian organisms are metabolizing. After a week or two the soil is squirted with a second course of nutrient (C). The INCUBATE di- tector continues its watch. NUTRIENT RESERVOIR AND INJECTOR DRAIN AND MEASUREMENTS HUMID MODE ADD NUTRIENT MEASUREMENTS WET MODE ADD MORE NUTRIENT C14 a) I- 0 9 (D a) (L s the air, alteped? 0 Just by living, I a creature affects its environment. People take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. It's the same with microbes. As they metabolize, they consume and produce gases that can be 00 measured. 0 The gas exchange (GEX) experiment looks for changes that 04 Martian microbes 4) might cause in gas levels over a long period. Soil is placed in a test chamber (A), sealed to prevent gas leakage. A nutrient is added in two phases. In the "humid mode,' Ijust 0 enough nutrient LL flows to the bottom of the -0 chamber to humidify -). if the soil contains the soil (D dormant spores or seeds, the water 0 L_ vapor might awakenCL them. A gas chromatograph CL measures the gases. Certain rises or falls would indicate biological Processes. 1 n th e " w e t m o' e, " n ut ri saturates the soil (C). Measure- ments last for several months. For early results of these three tests, see pages 23-26. 16