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Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #220

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 10 : Issue 220

Today's Topics:
               Planetary Space Probes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 89 14:06:31 GMT
From: wrksys.dec.com![e-mail]  (CUP/ASG, MLO5-2/G1 6A, 223-3283 07-Nov-1989 0906)
Subject: Planetary Space Probes.


        Lance Michel ([e-mail]) asked the following questions
    about these planetary space probes:

    >> Viking 1,2    1975    Still sending any signals?
    >>            If not, when did they stop?

        VIKING 1 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 20,
    1975 on a TITAN 3E-CENTAUR D1 rocket.  The probe went into Martian
    orbit on June 19, 1976, and the lander set down on the western slopes
    of Chryse Planitia on July 20, 1976.  It soon began its programmed
    search for Martian micro-organisms (there is still debate as to whether
    the probes found life there or not), and sent back incredible color
    panoramas of its surroundings.  One thing scientists learned was that
    Mars' sky was pinkish in color, not dark blue as they originally
    thought (the sky is pink due to sunlight reflecting off the reddish
    dust particles in the thin atmosphere).

        The VIKING 1 orbiter kept functioning until August 7, 1980, when
    it ran out of attitude-control propellant.  The lander was switched
    into a weather-reporting mode, where it had been hoped it would keep
    functioning through 1994; but after November 13, 1982, an errant
    command had been sent to the lander accidentally telling it to shut
    down until further orders.  Communication was never regained again,
    despite the engineers' efforts through May of 1983.

        An interesting side note:  VIKING 1's lander has been designated
    the Thomas A. Mutch Memorial Station in honor of the late leader of the
    lander imaging team.  The National Air and Space Museum in Washington,
    D.C. is entrusted with the safekeeping of the Mutch Station Plaque
    until it can be attached to the lander by a manned expedition.

        VIKING 2 was launched on September 9, 1975, and arrived in Martian
    orbit on August 7, 1976.  The lander touched down on September 3, 1976
    in Utopia Planitia.  It accomplished essentially the same tasks as its
    sister lander, with the exception that its seisometer worked, recording
    one marsquake.  The orbiter had a series of attitude-control gas leaks
    in 1978, which prompted it being shut down that July.  The lander was
    shut down on April 12, 1980.

        The orbits of both VIKING orbiters should decay around 2025.

        The next United States Mars mission will be the Mars Observer,
    scheduled for launch in 1992.  Although there are no definite U.S.
    Mars probe plans after that, some possibilities are a lander which
    will return samples of Martian soil to Earth (this may be a
    cooperative project with the Soviets), and a rover/walker vehicle,
    in preparation for manned missions, which may also be international
    in scope.

    >> Mariner 1,2    1962    Did we get any data?

        MARINER 1, the first U.S. attempt to send a spacecraft to Venus,
    was destroyed in 1962 over the Atlantic Ocean by the Range Safety
    Officer when its rocket veered off course due to a program command
    failure.

        MARINER 2 became the first successful probe to flyby Venus in
    December of 1962, and it returned information which confirmed that
    Venus is a very hot (800 degrees Farenheit, now revised to 900 degrees
    F.) world with a cloud-covered atmosphere composed primarily of carbon
    dioxide (and sulfuric acid).

    >> 3-7    1963+    Do we even know where they are?

        MARINER 3, launched on November 5, 1964, was lost when its
    protective shroud failed to eject as the craft was placed into
    interplanetary space.  Unable to collect the Sun's energy for power
    from its solar panels, the probe soon died when its batteries ran
    out and is now in solar orbit.  It was intended for a Mars flyby.

        MARINER 4, the sister probe to MARINER 3, did reach Mars in
    1965 and took the first close-up images of the Martian surface (22
    in all) as it flew by the planet.  It is now in solar orbit.

        MARINER 5 was sent to Venus in 1967, and it reconfirmed the data
    on that planet collected five years earlier by MARINER 2, plus the
    information that Venus' atmospheric pressure at its surface is 90
    times that of Earth's.

        MARINER 6 and 7 were sent to Mars in 1969, and expanded upon
    the work done by MARINER 4 four years earlier.

    >> 8        Crashed in the ocean right?

        MARINER 8 ended up in the Atlantic Ocean in 1971 when the rocket
    launcher autopilot failed.

    >> 9    1971    What was the mission?

        MARINER 9, the sister probe to MARINER 8, became the first craft
    to orbit Mars in 1971.  It returned information on the Red Planet
    that no other probe had done before, such as reveal huge volcanoes
    on the Martian surface, as well as giant canyon systems, and evidence
    that water once flowed across the planet.

    >> 10    1973    Venus.  Any data?

        MARINER 10 used Venus as a gravity assist to Mercury in 1974.
    The probe did return the first close-up images of the Venusian
    atmosphere in ultraviolet, revealing previously unseen details in
    the cloud cover, plus the fact that the entire cloud system circles
    the planet in four Earth days.

    >>  ??        That's all of them Right?

        Technically, yes, although VOYAGER 1 and 2 were originally
    going to be part of the MARINER series (11 and 12), but their names
    were changed partly to spark new public interest in the program,
    plus the fact that NASA also felt these vehicles were different in
    both design and mission scope from the MARINER craft before them
    to warrant a new designation.

    >> Pioneer    1-3        Failed moon trajectories?

        Although PIONEER 1 through 3 did fail to meet their main objective,
    to photograph the Moon close-up, they did reach far enough into space
    to provide new information on the area between Earth and the Moon,
    including new data on the Van Allen radiation belts circling Earth.
    All three craft had failures with their rocket launchers.  PIONEER 1
    was launched on October 11, 1958, PIONEER 2 on November 8, and
    PIONEER 3 on December 6.

    >> 4-9        All Moon related?

        PIONEER 4 was a Moon probe which missed the Moon and became
    the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the Sun in 1959.  PIONEER 5 was
    originally designed to flyby Venus, but the mission was scaled down
    and it instead studied the interplanetary environment between Venus
    and Earth out to 33 million miles in 1960, a record until MARINER 2.
    PIONEER 6 through 9 were placed into solar orbit from 1965 to 1968:
    PIONEER 6 and 8 are still transmitting information at this time.
    PIONEER E (would have been 10) suffered a launch failure in 1969.

    >> 10,11        Jupiter,Saturn Still operating?

        PIONEER 10 became the first spacecraft to flyby Jupiter in 1973.
    PIONEER 11 followed it in 1974, and then went on to become the first
    probe to study Saturn in 1979.  Both vehicles are still functioning
    and are heading off into interstellar space, the first craft to do so.

    >> Pioneer
    >> Venus    1    1978    Where are they now? How do you know?
    >> Venus    2        Probes released? What about them?

        PIONEER Venus 1 (also known as PIONEER Venus Orbiter, or PIONEER
    12) is still orbiting Venus and returning data to Earth.  It is
    expected to enter the Venusian atmosphere and burn up by 1991.
    PVO made the first radar studies of the planet's surface via probe.
    PIONEER Venus 2 (also known as PIONEER 13) sent four small probes
    into the atmosphere in December of 1978.  The main spacecraft bus
    burned up high in the atmosphere, while the four probes descended
    by parachute towards the surface.  Though none were expected to
    survive to the surface, the Day probe did make it and transmitted
    for 67 minutes on the ground before succumbing to the intense surface
    heat.  I only know what NASA tells me. :^)

    >> Ranger    3-9    1965+    All Moon related?  Any data coming in?

        RANGER 3, launched on January 26, 1962, was intended to land an
    instrument capsule on the surface of the Moon, but problems during the
    launch caused the probe to miss the Moon and head into solar orbit.

        RANGER 4 had the same purpose as RANGER 3, but suffered technical
    problems enroute and crashed on the lunar farside, the first U.S.
    probe to reach the Moon, albeit without returning data.

        RANGER 5 also contained a capsule lander, but it too had launch
    problems that forced it to miss the Moon and go into solar orbit.

        RANGER 6 through 9 were more modified lunar missions:  They
    were to send back live images of the lunar surface as they headed
    towards an impact with the Moon.  RANGER 6 failed this objective
    in 1964 when its cameras did not operate, but RANGER 7 through 9
    performed well, returning thousands of lunar images through 1965,
    the first U.S. Moon probes to do so.

    >> Lunar Orbiter        ???? What was this for?

        LUNAR ORBITER 1 through 5 were designed to orbit the Moon and
    image various sites being studied as landing areas for the manned
    APOLLO missions of 1969-1972.  The probes also contributed greatly
    to our understanding of lunar surface features, particularly the
    lunar farside.  All five probes of the series, launched from 1966
    to 1967, were essentially successful in their missions.  They were
    also the first U.S. probes to orbit the Moon.

    >> Surveyor    1968    Just for landing site research?

        The SURVEYOR series were designed primarily to see if an APOLLO
    lunar module could land on the surface of the Moon without sinking
    into the soil (before this time, it was feared by some that the Moon
    was covered in great layers of dust, which would not support a heavy
    landing vehicle).  SURVEYOR was successful in proving that the lunar
    surface was strong enough to hold up a spacecraft.

        Only SURVEYOR 2 and 4 were unsuccessful missions.  The rest became
    the first U.S. probes to soft land on the Moon, taking thousands of
    images and scooping the soil for analysis.  APOLLO 12 landed 600 feet
    from SURVEYOR 3 in 1969 and returned parts of the craft to Earth.
    SURVEYOR 7, the last of the series, was a purely scientific mission
    which explored the Tycho crater region in 1968.

    >> SOVIET PROBES:  Any info at all would be interesting.
    >>            Luna
    >>            Venera
    >>            Mars
    >>            Others?

        Since there have been so many Soviet probes to the Moon, Venus,
    and Mars, I will highlight only the primary missions:

        Moon -

        LUNA 1 - Lunar impact attempt in 1959, missed Moon and became
                 first craft in solar orbit.

        LUNA 2 - First craft to impact on lunar surface in 1959.

        LUNA 3 - Took first crude images of lunar farside in 1959.

        ZOND 3 - Took first images of lunar farside in 1965 since
                 LUNA 3.  Was also a test for future Mars missions.

        LUNA 9 - First probe to soft land on the Moon in 1966, returned
                 images from surface.

        LUNA 10 - First probe to orbit the Moon in 1966.

        LUNA 13 - Second successful Soviet lunar soft landing mission
                  in 1966.

        ZOND 5 - First successful circumlunar craft.  ZOND 6 through 8
                 accomplished similar missions through 1970.  The probes
                 were unmanned tests of a manned SOYUZ-type lunar vehicle.
                 The project was abandoned in 1975.

        LUNA 16 - First probe to land on Moon and return samples of
                  lunar soil to Earth in 1970.  LUNA 20 accomplished
                  similar mission in 1972.

        LUNA 24 - Last lunar mission to date.  Returned soil samples
                  in 1976.

        Venus -

        VENERA 1 - First acknowledged attempt at Venus mission.
                   Transmissions lost enroute in 1961.

        VENERA 3 - Attempt to place a lander capsule on Venusian surface.
                   Transmissions ceased just before encounter and entire
                   probe became the first craft to impact on another
                   planet in 1966.

        VENERA 4 - First probe to successfully return data while
                   descending through Venusian atmosphere.  Crushed
                   by air pressure before reaching surface in 1967.
                   VENERA 5 and 6 mission profiles similar in 1969.

        VENERA 7 - First probe to return data from the surface of
                   another planet in 1970.  VENERA 8 accomplished
                   a similar mission in 1972.

        VENERA 9 - Sent first image of Venusian surface in 1975.
                   VENERA 10 accomplished similar mission.

        VENERA 13 - Returned first color images of Venusian surface
                    in 1982.  VENERA 14 accomplished similar mission.

        VENERA 15 - Accomplished radar mapping with VENERA 16 of sections
                    of planet's surface in 1983 more detailed than PVO.

        VEGA 1 - Accomplished with VEGA 2 first balloon probes of
                 Venusian atmosphere in 1985, including two landers.
                 Flyby buses went on to become first spacecraft to
                 study Comet Halley close-up in 1986.

        Mars -

        MARS 1 - First acknowledged Mars probe in 1962.  Transmissions
                 ceased enroute the following year.

        ZOND 2 - First possible attempt to place a lander capsule on
                 Martian surface.  Probe signals ceased enroute in 1965.

        MARS 2 - First Soviet Mars probe to land - albeit crash - on
                 Martian surface.  Orbiter section first Soviet probe
                 to circle the Red Planet in 1971.

        MARS 3 - First successful soft landing on Martian surface, but
                 lander signals ceased after 90 seconds in 1971.

        MARS 4 - Attempt at orbiting Mars in 1974, braking rockets
                 failed to fire, probe went on into solar orbit.

        MARS 5 - First fully successful Soviet Mars mission, orbiting Mars
                 in 1974.  Returned images of Martian surface comparable to
                 U.S. probe MARINER 9.

        MARS 6 - Landing attempt in 1974.  Lander crashed into the surface.

        MARS 7 - Lander missed Mars completely in 1974, went into a solar
                 orbit with its flyby bus.

        PHOBOS 1 - First attempt to land probes on surface of Mars'
                   largest moon, Phobos.  Probe failed enroute in 1988
                   due to human/computer error.

        PHOBOS 2 - Attempt to land probes on Martian moon Phobos.  The
                   probe did enter Mars orbit in early 1989, but signals
                   ceased one week before scheduled Phobos landing.

        While there has been talk of a Soviet Jupiter and Saturn probe
    within the next twenty years, no major steps have yet been taken
    with these projects.  More intensive studies of Mars, Venus, and
    various comets are planned for the 1990s, and even a Mercury mission
    to orbit and land probes on the tiny world is planned for 2003.

        I also recommend reading the following works, categorized in three
    groups:  General overviews, specific books on particular space missions,
    and periodical sources on space probes.  This list is by no means
    complete; it is primarily designed to give you places to start your
    research through generally available works on the subject.  If anyone
    can add pertinent works to the list, it would be greatly appreciated.

        Though naturally I recommend all the books listed below, I think
    it would be best if you started out with the general overview books,
    in order to give you a clear idea of the history of space exploration
    in this area.  I also recommend that you pick up some good, up-to-date
    general works on astronomy and the Sol system, to give you some extra
    background.  Most of these books and periodicals can be found in any
    good public and university library.  Some of the more recently published
    works can also be purchased in and/or ordered through any good mass-
    market bookstore.

        General Overviews (in alphabetical order by author):

          Merton E. Davies and Bruce C. Murray, THE VIEW FROM SPACE:
           PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF THE PLANETS, 1971

          Kenneth Gatland, THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SPACE
           TECHNOLOGY, 1981

          Kenneth Gatland, ROBOT EXPLORERS, 1972

          R. Greeley, PLANETARY LANDSCAPES, 1987

          Douglas Hart, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SOVIET SPACECRAFT, 1987

          Nicholas L. Johnson, HANDBOOK OF SOVIET LUNAR AND PLANETARY
           EXPLORATION, 1979

          Clayton R. Koppes, JPL AND THE AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAM: A
           HISTORY OF THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY, 1982

          Richard S. Lewis, THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE
           UNIVERSE, 1983

          Mark Littman, PLANETS BEYOND: DISCOVERING THE OUTER SOLAR
           SYSTEM, 1988

          Eugene F. Mallove and Gregory L. Matloff, THE STARFLIGHT
           HANDBOOK: A PIONEER'S GUIDE TO INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL, 1989

          Frank Miles and Nicholas Booth, RACE TO MARS: THE MARS
           FLIGHT ATLAS, 1988

          Bruce Murray, JOURNEY INTO SPACE, 1989

          Oran W. Nicks, FAR TRAVELERS, 1985 (NASA SP-480)

          James E. Oberg, UNCOVERING SOVIET DISASTERS: EXPLORING THE
           LIMITS OF GLASNOST, 1988

          Carl Sagan, COMET, 1986

          Carl Sagan, THE COSMIC CONNECTION, 1973

          Carl Sagan, PLANETS, 1969 (LIFE Science Library)

          Arthur Smith, PLANETARY EXPLORATION: THIRTY YEARS OF UNMANNED
           SPACE PROBES, 1988

          Andrew Wilson, (JANE'S) SOLAR SYSTEM LOG, 1987

        Specific Mission References:

          Charles A. Cross and Patrick Moore, THE ATLAS OF MERCURY, 1977
           (The MARINER 10 mission to Venus and Mercury, 1973-1975)

          Joel Davis, FLYBY: THE INTERPLANETARY ODYSSEY OF VOYAGER 2, 1987

          Irl Newlan, FIRST TO VENUS: THE STORY OF MARINER 2, 1963

          Margaret Poynter and Arthur L. Lane, VOYAGER: THE STORY OF A
           SPACE MISSION, 1984

          Carl Sagan, MURMURS OF EARTH, 1978 (Deals with the Earth
           information records placed on VOYAGER 1 and 2 in case the
           probes are found by intelligences in interstellar space,
           as well as the probes and planetary mission objectives
           themselves.)

        Other works and periodicals:

        NASA has published very detailed and technical books on every
    space probe mission it has launched.  Good university libraries will
    carry these books, and they are easily found simply by knowing which
    mission you wish to read about.  I recommend these works after you
    first study some of the books listed above.

        Some periodicals I recommend for reading on space probes are
    NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, which has written articles on the PIONEER probes
    to Earth's Moon Luna and the Jovian planets Jupiter and Saturn, the
    RANGER, SURVEYOR, LUNAR ORBITER, and APOLLO missions to Luna, the
    MARINER missions to Mercury, Venus, and Mars, the VIKING probes to
    Mars, and the VOYAGER missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

        More details on American, Soviet, European, and Japanese probe
    missions can be found in SKY AND TELESCOPE, ASTRONOMY, SCIENCE, NATURE,
    and SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazines.  TIME, NEWSWEEK, and various major
    newspapers can supply not only general information on certain missions,
    but also show you what else was going on with Earth at the time events
    were unfolding, if that is of interest to you.  Space missions are
    affected by numerous political, economic, and climatic factors, as
    you probably know.

        Depending on just how far your interest in space probes will
    go, you might also wish to join The Planetary Society, one of the
    largest space groups in the world dedicated to planetary exploration.
    Their periodical, THE PLANETARY REPORT, details the latest space
    probe missions.  Membership in the Society is $20 yearly for U.S.
    citizens.  Write to The Planetary Society, 65 North Catalina Avenue,
    Pasadena, California 91106 USA.

        Good luck with your studies in this area of space exploration.
    I personally find planetary missions to be one of the more exciting
    areas in this field, and the benefits human society has and will
    receive from it are incredible, with many yet to be realized.

        Larry Klaes  [e-mail]
             or - ...!decwrl!wrksys.dec.com!klaes
                 or - [e-mail]
                     or - [e-mail]

             N = R*fgfpneflfifaL

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End of SPACE Digest V10 #220
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