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 Molecular Analyses air pressure, temperature, and wind
The atmosphere and the soil around direction and velocity around the land.
the lander will be analyzed to identify ing site.
organic molecules, the presence of Orbiter
which could furnish clues about exist-
ing or extinct life. (Organic molecules
could also provide evidence of pre-
biological processes having nothing
to do with life.)
Mineral Analyses
The purpose of this experiment is to
find out what the Martian surface is
made up of in terms of chemical
elements. The comparative abundance
of the elements can in turn give clues
as to the mineral make-up of the
planet, its history and its relationship
to the Earth.
Soil Magnetic Properties Viking Lander, near discarded parachute and
Surface particles will be checked for capsule, is ready to relay surface data via passing
Orbiter. (Artist's concept.)
magnetic properties. According to one
theory, an abundance of iron in the The Viking Orbiter will take pictures
soil gives Mars its reddish of Mars from space; measure concentra-
appearance. tions of water vapor in different parts of
Soil Physical Properties the Martian atmosphere; and gather
Cameras, sensors, and the claw information about surface temperatures.
samples will provide informatio~ on The Orbiter also acts as a radio relay
such properties as cohesiveness, station for the lander to send its data to
porosity, hardness, and particle size Earth. (The lander will be able to transmit
of the soil around the landing area. directly to Earth but at a much slower
data rate.) Both craft will use their radios
Seismology in a variety of experiments; for example,
A seismometer will report on meteorite
impacts and Marsquakes, if any.
Quakes would indicate the planet has
an active interior.

Meteorology
As the Lander descends, it will acquire
information about the structure and
composition of the Martian atmos-
phere, including its ionosphere.
From this data, meteorologists will be
able to develop a profile of the planet's
atmosphere. After landing, the space-
craft becomes an automated weather Technician tests UHF transmitter that will
station, providing data on changes in broadcast from surface of Mars.
refining measurements on Mars mass, solar that may be a million years old. Heat and
orbit, and atmosphere. nutrients provided during experiments
terminated the dormancies of the bacteria
and triggered them to both move around
LIFE ON MARS?
and reproduce.
The Viking experiments of greatest
popular interest are those concerned with WHAT IF?
detecting evidence of life on Mars. The
What if the life we thought we found
discovery of a native living cellon Mars
on Mars had been put there by our own
would be one of man's greatest achieve-
spacecraft? This would indeed be a
ments. It would strengthen the belief that
scientific calamity.
more advanced organisms and perhaps
How is NASA to avoid this predicament?
man-like, even intelligent, civilizations
could exist beyond Earth. And if the life NASA's method is to sterilize the Viking
lander by intensive cleaning and by
detected were substantially different from
literally baking it before and after sealing
Earth's, it would be even more fascinating
the lander in a bioshield. Heat levels will
and significant.
be such that no part of the spacecraft is
The environment of Mars is hostile to
cooler than 1120 Celsius (2360 Fahrenheit).
life as we know it on Earth.
This makes the chance that any Earth
However, Mars appears to have traces microorganism will reach Mars very small.
of water. It has an atmosphere which is
one-hundredth as dense as Earth's and
MARS-A GEOLOGIST'S PARADISE
is mostly carbon dioxide, and an equatorial
temperature range that would permit life Geologists are fascinated with Mars.
to exist. In laboratory experiments simulat- Stretching for more than 5,000 kilometers
ing this Martian environment, certain (3,000 miles) across the waist of Mars
bacteria and fungi have, for a time, survived is a huge chasm with branching tributaries
and, if liquid water is present, they grow. that dwarf the United States Grand Canyon,
Mariner 9 photographs of Mars show which was formed by water. The Martian
geographic features that could have been Canyon is more comparable, however,
formed by flowing water. They resemble to Earth's Great Rift Valley which stretches
dry riverbeds on Earth. They could not have from the Dead Sea to Southern Africa and
been formed by lava because no volcanic was created eons ago, like the Martian
craters or vents are visible near them. Thus, chasm, by a massive slippage of the
Mars may have had a far wetter past than planet's crust.
it does today. This kind of past would also
mean that Mars once had a much denser
atmosphere than at present. Conceivably,
life could have evolved during such a
period. Some forms may have adapted to
changing conditions as the Martian dry
spell set in. Or they may have hibernated
or gone into suspended animation to await
the return of more favorable conditions.
Fantastic? Well, in May 1974, two scientists
reported that in soil samples taken from
far below the frigid surface of Earth's Martian valley resembling gully on Earth. (Man-
Antarctica, they found frozen bacteria made model based on Mariner 9 photograph)
 Even more impressive is the great
Martian volcanic mountain, Nix Olympica,
which rises approximately 24 kilometers
(15 miles) above the Martian plains. This
altitude is about three times the distance
from sea level to the tip of Mount Everest,
Earth's highest peak. And Olympica's 536-
kilometer (335-mile) diameter circular
scarp (retaining wall) encompasses a
volcanic pile twice as wide as that which
forms the main islands of the Hawaiian
The great volcanic mountain Nix Olympica. (Man-
made model based on Mariner 9 photographs.)
Close-upof great Martian equatorial chasm. (Man-
made model based on Mariner 9 photographs.)
chain, the biggest volcanic pile on Earth.
Actually, nearly half of Mars seems to be
volcanic in origin and extensive lava flows
are visible. However, there is no evidence
of current volcanic activity.
There is also an interesting Martian
region called "chaotic." About the size of
Alaska, its series of short ridges, slumped
valleys, and other irregular topography
resemble the after-reffects of a landslide
or quake. Nowhere on Earth is a compar-
able feature so vast.
Another mysterious Martian region is a
fairly smooth one called Hellas. Craters
that pock the Martian surface stop short
at Hellas, which is about as large as Texas.
Scientists term Hellas a "featureless" area
and, as yet, cannot explain it. Perhaps,
the surface is obscured by dust clouds.
While much of the Viking focus is on
the search for life on Mars, Viking's
objectives are quite broad. This recognizes
the fact that so relatively little is known
about Mars. Because of this, the area of
science in which the most significant
discovery may be made is unpredictable.
NATIONAL
AERONAUTICS
AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546
GPO: 1915 0 -511-138