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LANDING SITEUtopia Planitia
LAT47.64°
LON-134.29°
MARS
Sep 3, 1976
LANDING DATE
1976
3 years 7 months
MISSION DURATION
TOTAL
-120 to -14 C (measured)
SURFACE TEMP
AT LANDING SITE
572
KG
MASS
7
INSTRUMENTS
SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD
Viking 2 is a lander mission by NASA / JPL on Mars. Landed September 3, 1976. Landing site: Utopia Planitia.
ABOUT VIKING 2
Viking 2 landed in Utopia Planitia, a vast plain in Mars’s northern hemisphere, becoming the second spacecraft to successfully operate on the Martian surface. At 47.6 degrees north latitude, it experienced more extreme seasons than its twin and photographed seasonal water frost on the rocks and soil. Its biology experiments produced results similar to Viking 1. The seismometer, which had failed on Viking 1, successfully operated but most signals were attributed to wind rather than marsquakes.
KEY DISCOVERIES
- Seasonal water frost photographed on Mars surface
- Utopia Planitia soil composition similar to Chryse Planitia
- Biology experiment results consistent with Viking 1 (ambiguous)
- Seismometer may have detected wind or a marsquake
TECHNOLOGY & FIRSTS
- Northernmost Mars landing for decades
- Operated through two Martian winters
- Seismometer detected possible marsquake
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (7)
Facsimile cameras (2)
Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer
Biology experiments: Labeled Release, Gas Exchange, Pyrolytic Release
X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
Meteorology instruments
Seismometer
Soil sampler arm
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Mass572 kg (1,261 lbs)
PowerRTG (SNAP-19, Plutonium-238) (70W)
CommunicationsS-band direct to Earth, UHF relay via orbiter
Design Life90 days
Landing DateSeptember 3, 1976
Mission EndApril 11, 1980
ProgramViking
SURFACE DATA
Surface Temperature-120 to -14 C (measured)
Surface Pressure7.5 mbar (measured)
Soil CompositionSimilar to Viking 1: iron-rich clay with 44% SiO2, 18% Fe2O3
🚀 LAUNCH MISSION