Mariner 9 Press Kit

8/8/2019 Mariner 9 Press Kit

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NAT ION AL AERONAUTICS AN D SPACE ADMINISTRATION 755-8370755-8347EL S .N E W S WASHINGTON,D .G.Y~os&

FOR RELEASE: UPON RECEIPTR i c h a r d T . M i t t a u e r(Phone: 2 2/7 5 5-3 80

PRESS

contentsGENERAL RELEASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4PRE-ENCOUNTER PHASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - 6O R B I T A L O P E R A T I O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -11MARS SCIENCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16MARS FACT SHEET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7SCHEDULE OF E V E N T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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NA TIO NA L AERONAUTICS A ND SPACE ADM INISTRATION (a2)55-8370E W S - WASHINGTON,D.C. 20% T E U : (202)755-8347FOR RELEASE: UPON RECEIPTRichard T. Mit t aue r(Phone: 202/755-3680)

RELEASE NO : 71-215

MARINER 9 MARS ENCOUNTER -- NOVEMBER 1 3

Man w i l l ha ve h i s f i r s t op p o rt u ni ty f o r a l e n g th y lo oka t an o t h e r p l a n e t , o t h e r t h a n e a r t h , w i t h d a i l y a nd se a s o n a lchanges in i t s atmosphere and on i t s su rf ac e when a UnitedS t a t e s s p a c e c r af t i s i n j e c t e d i n t o o r b i t a round Mars onNovember 13.

A f t e r a 400-mil l ion ki lometer (248-mil l ion m i l e ) journeyfrom launch a t Cape Kennedy on May 30, Mariner 9 w i l l f i r ean onboard rocket f o r about 15 minutes t o i n s e r t it i n t oo r b i t a r o u n d Mars. All prev ious U.S. p l a n e t a r y s p a c e c r a f th av e a t t a i n e d o n l y b r i e f views of Mars on f ly-by miss ions .

Also aimed a t in cr ea si ng man's knowledge of Mars aretwo Russ ian spacecraf t , Mars 2 and 3 , now nea rihg t h e pla ne tt o climax journey s t h a t began wi th t h e i r launches on May 19and May 28.r ec en t ly ag reed t o r ap id exchange of f i nd ings o f sp ec i a li n t e r e s t by t h e U . S . and Soviet probes .

NASA and t h e Academy of Sc iences of t h e USSR

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The Na t ion al Aero naut ics and Space Adm inis t rat ion hasplanned f o r Mar ine r a bas ic 90-day mission of r e t u r n i n gs c i e n t i f i c data f r o m Mart ian o rb i t . Mar ine r ' s m i ss ion i sbeing managed f o r NASA by i t s J e t Propuls ion Laboratory,Pasadena , Ca l i fo rn i a .

In t he 90-day b as ic miss ion , t w o t e l ev i s ion cam erasw i l l t ake m o r e than 5 , 0 0 0 p i c t u r e s o f t h e M a rt ia n s u r f a c e --mapping more than 70 p e r c e n t of t h e p l a n e t ' s s u r f a ce andrepea t ed ly pho tog raph ing a reas of i n t e r e s t .

Three other i n s tr u m e n ts , m ea su rin g i n v i s i b l e r a d i a t i o nfrom Mars i n u l t r a v i o l e t and i n f r a r e d , w i l l p r o v i d e a d d i t i o n a li n fo r m at io n on t h e p l a n e t ' s s u r f a c e -- i t s t empera ture ,c o mp os it io n, and a l t i t u d e p r o f i l e -- and on i t s atmosphere --i t s com pos it ion , s t ru c t u re , t em pera tu re and p res su re .

Two c t h e r s c i e n t i f i c e xp erim en ts w i l l measure var ia -t i o n s i n M a r in er 's r a d i o s i g n a l t o s tudy t he Mar t i an atmos-phere and t o m easure t h e p l a n e t ' s o r b i t around the Sun, theo r b i t of i t s two moons and i t s g r a v i t a t i o n a l f i e l d .

In o r b i t a round Mars, Mar iner a l s o w i l l be ab le t o providet h e f i r s t p i c t u r e s showing t h e s u r f a c e o f Mars' two t inymoons, Deimos and Phobos. - m o r e -


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On November 13 , Mar in er w i l l be aimed for a pre l im ina ryo r b i t a r o u n d Mars with a p e r i o d o f a b o ut 1 2 and 1/2 hours , ap e r i a p s i s ( l o w po in t ) o f 1 ,350 k i l om ete r s (800 m i l e s ) and anapoapsi s (h igh po in t ) of 1 7 , 7 0 0 k i l o m e t e r s ( 1 1 ,0 0 0 m i l e s ) .The pla nn ed r e f i n e d o r b i t f o r the bulk of th e 90-day b a si cmiss ion w i l l be an 11.98-hour o r b i t wi th an apoaps i s o f16,800 kilometers (10,500 m i l e s ) and a p e r i a p s i s o f a bo ut1 , 2 0 0 t o 1,280 ki l om ete rs (750 t o 800 m i l e s ) .

T h e o r b i t w i l l be i nc l i ne d abou t 65 deg rees t o t h eMar t ian equator s o t ha t more than 80 percent of the p l a n e tcan be mapped.

The f i n a l o r b i t w i l l be ach i eved s eve ra l days a f t e ro r b i t i n se r t i o n . It may r e q u i r e up t o t h r e e o r b i t t r i m s t oe s t a b l i s h t h e d e s i r e d pe r io d and p e r i a p s i s .

B o t h o r b i t i n s e r t i o n and o r b i t t r i m w i l l be performedwi th the onboard 660 ki logram (300 pound) t h r u s t ro ck etengine .

O r b it i n s e r t i o n w i l l r e qu i re approxim ate ly a 15-minuteengine burn t o s l o w t h e s p a c e c r a f t s u f f i c i e n t l y t o a llo wt h e M artian g r a v i t a t i o n a l f i e l d t o p u l l t h e M ar in er i n t oo r b i t . O r b i t t r i m s w i l l r e q u i r e o nl y b r i e f e ng in e f i r i n g s .

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T h e approach ve loc i ty w i l l be approximately 18,000ki lometers (11,185 m i l e s p e r h o u r ) , r e l a t i v e t o Mars. Burningof the engine w i l l r ed uc e t h i s v e l o c i t y to about 12,500ki lometers (7 ,830 m i l e s p e r h o i r ) .

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PRE-ENCOUNTER PHASE

P r i o r t o o r b i t i n s e r t i o n Mariner w i l l t r an s m it t o E a r thth ree s equences of app roach p i c tu res o f Mars. This phactro-graphy w i l l begin.on November 1 0 a t about 2 p.m., PST, w i tht h e f i r s t p la yb ac k, of 31 p i c t u r e s , o c c u r r in g a b ou t 2 4 hoursl a t e r on Thursday, November 11. The ra n g e f o r t h e s e p i c t u r e sw i l l be from 861,000 t o 571,000 ki lo m et e rs (535,000 t o 355,000m i l e s ) from -Mars. Twenty-f ive p ic tu res of M a r s and s i xp i c t u r e s of the Martian moon D e i m o s w i l l be inc luded .

The second playback w i l l be on November 12, a t about7:15 p.m., PST, range, 523,000 t o 257,000 ki lo m et e rs (325,000t o 1 6 0 ,0 0 0 m i l e s ) . Twenty-four p ic tu r e s o f Mars and sevenD e i m o s p i c tu re s , The t h i r d p layback w i l l begin on November 1 3 ,a t abo ut 7 p.m., PST, f o l lo w i n g o r b i t i n s e r t i o n . Range210,000 t o 113,000 k i l o m e t e r s (130 ,000 t o 70 ,000 m i l e s ) .Twenty- th ree p ic tu res of M a r s and two Phobos, s i x D e i m o sp i c t u r e s .

Photography on each of the f i r s t two sequences w i l l betimed t o provide coverage of a comple te revo lu t ion of Marsas it r e vo lv e s i n f r o n t of the approach ing sp ac ec ra f t . Witht h e e x c e p t i o n of a s i n g l e , l o w- r es o lu t io n p i c t u r e of Phobostaken on t he Mar ine r 6 and 7 m iss ions i n 1 9 6 9 , t he Mar t i anmoons have been seen o r photographed, f r o m E a r t h , only asp i n p o i n t s of l i g h t . - more -


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Approach photograp hy of t h e moons w i l l provide r e f i n e -ments of the o r b i t a l pa ths and ve lo c i t y measurements c a lcu-l a t e d from E a r t h . T h i s da t a w i l l b e u t i l i z e d l a t e r t o accu-r a t e l y a i m the TV cam eras a t t he moons f o r r e l a t i ve ly c lo serange photography w h i l e i n o r b i t around M a r s .

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6a

5

- -PRE-OR81T SEQ.1, FRAME IAPPROX. RANGE : 525,000 MI,

5

PRE-OR81T SEU. I ,FRAME 31APPROX. RANGE: 355,000MI.


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\5_.PRE-ORBIT SEQ. 2, FRAME 1APFKOX.RANGE: 325,UUU 1~1111

PRE-ORBIT SEQ.Z, FRAME 30APROX. RANGE: 160,000 MI.


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6c

I

iPRE-ORBIT SEQ.3 FRAME 4APPROX. RANGE $37,000MI.


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6d

I--mU0


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O R B I T A L OPERATIONS

The Mars o r b i t f o r Mariner 9 w a s selected t o p la c ep e r i a p s i s i n the m idd le of t h e view period ( a f t e r o r b i tt r i m ) of t h e 64-meter-diameter (210-fo ot) antenna of th eDeep Space network a t Goldstone i n t h e Ca l i f o r n i a MojaveDesert, about 240 k i lom e te r s (150 m i l e s ) n o r t h e a s t of JPL.Only the 6 4 - m e t e r an tennas of the D S N can receive a t 1 6 , 2 0 0b i t s per second.

Goldstone w i l l view M a r s each day from about 1 p.m.t o 11 p.m., PST, during one of the t w o d a i l y s p a c e c r a f to r b i t s o f Mars. During t h a t t i m e , Mariner 9 w i l l t r a n s m i ttwo tape-loads of TV and o t h e r s c i e n c e da ta . T he f i r s ttape-load w i l l have been take n and s t o re d on t h e t a p e r e c o r d eron t h e prev ious o r b i t when M a r s w a s n o t i n view of Goldstone.The second tape-load w i l l be t aken and t ra ns mi t te d dur ingt h e Goldstone view per iod .

Each t ape - load , r equ i r i ng t h r ee hours t o t r a n s m i t , w i l lhave about 30 TV p i c t u r e s a n d d a t a from:

t h e I n f r a r e d I n t e r f e r o m e t e r Sp e ct ro m et er ; s t u dy of thep la n et ' s su r fa ce and compos it ion , a tmospher ic composi-t i o n , t e m pe r at u re , p r e s s u r e and w a t e r c o n t e n t ,In fr a re d Radiometer; su rf ac e tempe rature measurements,and Ul t r av io le t Spectrometer ; a tmospher ic compos it ion ,s t r u c t u r e a nd p r e ss u r e s .

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A l l t h e i n s t r u m e n t s a r e b o r e - si g h t ed w i t h t h e TV camerast o a l lo w c l o s e c o r r e l a t i o n o f d a t a .

Two a d d i t i o n a l e xp e r i m e n ts do n o t r e q u i r e i n s t r u m e n t s --o c c u l t a t i o n a n d c e l e s t i a l m e c h an i cs . O c c u l t a t i o n d a t ai n c l u d i n g a t m os p h er i c p r e s s u r e i s d e r i v e d f r o m a t m o s p h e r i ce f f e c t s on t h e r a d i o s i g n a l a s t h e s p a c e c r a f t p a s se s b e h in dMars a nd t h e s i g n a l p a s s e s t h r o u g h t h e M a r t i a n a tm o s ph e re .The c e l e s t i a l m ec ha nic s e x pe r i m e n t w i l l inc lude measurementsof t h e o r b i t o f t h e t w o moons, t h e M a r ti a n g r a v i t a t i o n a lf i e l d a nd t h e e p h e m er i s of Mars ( i t s p o s i t i o n a t a g iven t i m ei n s o l a r o r b i t ) . The m ea su re me nts a r e d e r i v e d fr om t r a c k i n gd a t a .

The f i r s t p la yb a ck of d a t a t a ke n from o r b i t w i l l b e g i na t 6 : 5 7 a.m., PST, Sunday, November 1 4 . The f i r s t t e np i c t u r e s w i l l b e r e l a y e d t o J P L by c a b l e f r o m f h e R o ble dot r a c k i n g s t a t i o n n e a r M adrid a t 2 ,0 25 b i t s p e r s e co n d . Thep l ayback w i l l r e q u i r e s i x hou rs , 34 m inu t es t o com ple te .

The r em ain de r o f t h e f i r s t o r b i t t a p e w i l l b e r e c e i v e da t the G o l d s t o n e s t a t i o n a t 1 6 , 2 0 0 b i t s p e r s ec on d . The sef i r s t o r b i t a l p i c t u r e s w i l l be a mapping se qu en ce . Thet r a n s m i s s i o n s e q u e n c e w i l l b e g i n a t 2 : 3 7 p.m., PST, and concludea t 4:55 p.m. - more -


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The se co nd o r b i t p i c t u r e s , a l s o t o b e p la y ed back Sun-day, November 1 4 , from 6 : 4 0 p.m. t o 9:55 p.m., PST, w i l lmost l i k e l y in c l ud e more mapping f rames a s w i l l a l l sequencesp r i o r t o o r b i t t r i m . F o l l o w i n g o r b i t t r i m , f u l l s c i en ce w i l lbe conducted

O r b i t 3 t r a n s m i s s i o n t i m e i s 2 : 2 2 p.rn., PST, Monday,November 15 , t o 5:37 p.m., PST.

O r b i t 4 p i c t u r e s w i l l be t r an sm i t te d be tween 7:39 p.m.and 10:54 p.m., PST, Monday, November 1 5 .

O r b i t 5 p l a y b ac k w i l l o c c u r , a f t e r t h e s ch e du le d o r b i t t r i m ,on Tuesday, November 1 6 be tw ee n 8:32 p.m. and 1 1 : 4 7 p.m., PST.

There w i l l be no photography on Or b i t 6 due t o t h e o r b i tt r i m , now plan ned f o r 7 : O O p.m., November 1 6 .

O r b i t 7 p i c t u r e s , t o be t r a n s m i t te d t o E a r th f rom 1 : 4 6 p.m.t o 4:56 p.m., PST, November 1 7 , w i l l b e a r ep e a t o f t h e f i r s t o r b i tphotography -- a swath of m apping p i c t u r e s n o r t h f ro m t h e S o ut hP o l e. The f i r s t " f u l l sc ience" sequence will be conducted on thee i g h t h o r b i t , a l s o on November 1 7 . T h i s s e qu e nc e i n c l u d e s g l o b a l ,g e o de s y, p o l a r e d g e a t m o s p h e r i c an d m apping p i c t u r e s .

A lt ho ug h e a c h d a y ' s o r b i t a l o p e r a t i o n s h av e b ee n pl a nn e d i nadvance , a d a i l y s c i e n ce t e a m m eet ing w i l l b e h e l d , p r i o r t o t h eG ol ds to ne view p e r i o d , t o c a p i t a l i z e on t h e f l e x i b i l i t y o f ano r b i t a l f l i g h t mi s sio n.

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- 10 -Analysis of photography from t h e prev ious o r b i t s and

c om pu te r- ge ne ra te d c o r r e l a t i o n w i t h t h e o t h e r sc i e n c e i n s t r u -ments w i l l a l l o w s c i e n t i s t s t o r eac t t o an o p p o r tu n i ty t os tudy unusual o r unexpected s ur fa ce o r atmospheric phenomena.

A t y p i c a l o r b i t prov ides pho tog raphi c op t i ons f o r g loba l ,geodesy , po lar , v ar ia b l e su r fa ce fe a t ur es , mapping, and atmos-p h e r i c p i c t u r e s , u s e of v a r i o u s f i l t e r s , p h oto gr ap hy of t h et w o moons, real-time t r a ns m i s si o n o f s p e c t r a l d a t a f r o m t h espe ctro me ters and radiom eter , oc cu l t a t i o n measurements ofthe Mar ti an atm osphere, u l t r a v i o l e t spec t rom ete r r eco rd ing o fLyman aapha emiss ion s , n i gh t s i d e record ing of da ta by th esp e c t r a l i n s t rum en t s , and Dopple r and rang ing da t a f o r t hec e l e s t i a l mechanics experiments.

The exact mix of data t o be t aken on each o rb i t ,a l though pre-scheduled, is o p t i o n a l , The a t t a c h e d c h a r tg i v e s t h e s c h e d u l i n g f o r t h e f i r s t por t i on o f t he m i ss ion .Note t h a t " f u l l s c i en c e" se qu en ce s b e g in a f t e r o r b i t t r i m ,t e n t a t i v e l y s c h e d u l e d f o r Tuesday, November 1 6 .

The b a s i c 90-day mis sion w i l l y i e l d a map of 70 percen t o fMars wi t h wide ang l e camera a t a r e s o l u t i o n of one k i lometer(3 ,000 f e e t ) . Narrow a n g l e p i c t u r e s , a t a r e s o l u t i o n o f100 meters (300 f e e t ) , w i l l n e s t i n s i d e t h e wide a n gl e p i c t u r e s .

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- 11 -The Martian N o r t h P o l e w i l l n o t be v i s i b l e t o t h e sp ace-

c r a f t i n t h e 90-day p e r i o d of t h e b a s i c m is si on . It w i l l besoon a f t e r , however , and coverage of t h e Pole would beinc luded i n any p la ns f o r an ex tended miss ion .

Phobos and Deimos w i l l be photographed and da ta ta ken byt h e s p e c t r a l i n st r um e n ts f rom o r b i t a t ranges from 5 , 0 0 0k i l om e t e r s t o 8 , 000 k i l o m e t e r s (3,000 t o 5 , 0 0 0 miles ) . Anysu r fac e mark ings shou ld be v i s i b l e .

The u l t r a v i o l e t s p e c t r o m e te r w i l l provide a p r e s s u r emap and thus an a l t i t u d e map of t h e s ur fa ce which can bec o r r e l a t e d w i t h t h e p ho to gr ap hs . The r e s o l u t i o n of t h i s i n -s t rument w i l l permit pressure mapping and analysis of atmos-p h e r i c c o n s t i t u e n t s i n s i d e l a r g e r c ra te r s .

Photography of the South po le w i l l s t re ss s t u d i e s ofa number o f f e a t u r e s i n c l u d i n g r i d g e - l i k e s t r u c t u r e s seen i nth e Marine r ' 69 p i c t u r es t ermed "c i r cum po la r qua s i - l i nea lfe at u re s. " Much of th e po la r snow (carbon d iox ide wi thp o s s i b l y a t r ace o f w a t e r i cef ' s ee n i n t h e 1969 Marinerp i c t u r e s w i l l have disappeared t o r e v e a l t h e u n d e r l y i n gf e a t u r e s . - more -


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- 12 -MARS S C I E N C E

M a r s i s a cons tan t ly changing wor ld wi th seasonal andd a i l y v a r i a t i o n s t h a t have been o b se rv ed w i th d i f f i c u l t yfrom Ea r th and on ly br i e f ly by th r ee p rev ious f ly -by space-c r a f t .

I n t h i s o r b i t i n g m is si on a b a t t e r y o f i n st r um e n ts w i l lprobe t h e p l a ne t on a da i l y b as i s f o r t h r ee months andposs ib ly l onger .

The surface w i l l be examined by photography and i n t h ein f r a r e d wavelengths. The atmosphere w i l l be examined i nthe u l t r a v i o l e t a nd i n f r a r e d a nd by t h e o c c u l t a t i o n e x p e ri -ment .

From th e to p of th e t h i n Mart ian ga s envelope down t ot h e s u r f a c e a nd t h e i n t e r i o r o f c ra t e r s , the a tmospher icin s t rum en t s w i l l r ec o rd d a t a t o i d e n t i f y g a se s, p l o t t h em ix tu re of c o n s t i t u e n t s and v a r i a t i o n s r e l a t i v e t o t i m e anda r e a .

The ins t ruments w i l l view an ea r ly w in t er a tmospherea nd s u r f a c e i n the North and ea r l y summer i n t h e South.

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- 13 -The informat ion gathered should provide a b r o a d p i c t u r e

o f t h e f a c t o r s t h a t s ha pe p h y si c a l p r oc e s se s a t work on Mars.The qu es t io ns t o be answered range from d a i l y Mart ian weatherp a t t e r n s t o t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e f o r ma ti on of t h e p l a n e t a n dhow i t s eva lua t i on com pares w i th t h a t o f Ea r th .

The cu t t i n g edge o f t h i s m is s ion i s no t on ly t h e oppor-t u n i t y t o exam ine Mars i n d e t a i l o n a d a i l y b a s i s b u t is a l s ot h e c a r e f u l l y p la nn ed c o r r e l a t i o n of d a t a from t h e i n s t r u -ments t o y i e l d more t h a n t h e sum t o t a l of t h e p a r t s .

For example , th e u l t r a v io l e t exper iment and the twoi n f r a r e d e xp e ri m en ts a r e b or e - s ig h t e d w i t h t h e two TV cameras.The u l t r a v i o l e t a nd i n f r a r e d s p e c t ro m e t e r s i n p r ob i ng t h ea tm os ph er e, p r o vi d e an e l e v a t i o n p r o f i l e o f . t h e s u r f a c eu nd er t h e s c a n p a t h . T h i s i n t u r n , c an b e c o r r e l a t e d w i t ho t h e r d a t a as w a s t h e case i n t h e 1969 Mariner f l i g h t .

A photograph can be c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t e m p e ra t ur e s ont h e s u r f a c e a nd t h e p r e s s u r e a nd c o n s t i t u e n t s o f t h e a tmos-phere above t h e area photographed. A p h y s i c a l f e a t u r e ont h e su r f a c e can t hu s b e r e l a t e d t o o t h e r d a t a ob ta ined .

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- 14 -P a s t o b s e r v a t i o n s h a v e e s t a b l i s h e d t h e presence of c louds ,

h 'azes, b r i g h t spo ts and f l a res of l i g h t on the s u r f a c e .Y e l l o w c louds , thought t o be d u s t , can grow large enough t oobscure a l a rge p o r t i o n of the f a c e of M a r s and l a s t a montho r two. White clouds range from a h a z e , l a s t i n g a f e w hours ,t o huge d e ns e c lo u d s p e r s i s t i n g f o r d ay s o r weeks. Darkgrey c louds have been r ep or ted and thought t o poss ib ly bev o l c a n i c i n o r i g i n . F ou r w e r e re po rte d i n 1950 and 1952.Fla r es s e en on t h e s u r f a c e h av e a l s o been a t t r i b u t e d t o p o s s i b l evolcanic a c t i v i t y .

Study of these phenomenona by the combined instrumentpackage i s an object ive of t h e m i ss ion .

Another s p e c i f i c s c i e n t i f i c objec t ive i s a s tudy of t h e"wave of darkening. I' Observations from E a r t h h a v e e s t a b l i s h e dt h a t there i s an apparen t s easona l da rken ing of f e a t u r e s onMars b u t i f it p r o g r e s s e s a t a r e g u l a r r a t e i n a waveform i s ,today, open t o q u e s t i o n .

T h e s p a c e c r a f t w i l l a r r iv e a t Mars a t the peak of t h edarkening per iod i n th e Southern hemisphere. I t w i l l beobserved a t i t s maximum i n t e n s i t y and can be compared w i t hobse rva t i ons i n the Northe rn hemisphere and w i t h Earth-basedt e l e scope obse rva t i on . - more -


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- 15 -The water c o n t e n t of t h e Martian atmosphere i s known

t o be ex tr em ely l o w , s i m i l a r t o t h e d ry A n ta r c t ic . But it i sp o s s i b l e t h a t f ree w a t e r w a s f rozen i n t he pa s t and r emainsunder the sur fa ce l i k e perma-fros t. Heat escap ing from th ei n t e r i o r of Mars could m e l t t h e ic e and provide a w a t e r source .I f so , such an ar ea would be a p r ime t a r g e t f o r th e Vik ingLander t ha t w i l l seek ev idence of l i f e on Mars i n 1 9 7 6 .

In t he low p res su re of t h e Ma rtian atmosphere, however,w a t e r can o n ly e x i s t i n a f rozen o r vaporous s t a t e wi thperhaps a s h o r t l i v e d i n te r m ed i at e s t a t e t ha t cou ld m o i s t ent h e s o i l . I n t h e e v e nt of underground i c e m e l t i n g t h e r e i s ,then a p o s k i b i l i t y of a cloud forming ove r th e ar ea . Photo-graphy of such a c lo ud c o r r e l a t e d w i t h water vapor andt em peratu re m easurem ents cou ld i nd i c a t e an a rea su i t a b l e fo rl i f e forms.

The mapping of Mars i n t h i s m ission i s a b a s i c o b j e c t i v e .It i s e s s e n t i a l i n t h e s tu dy of a p l a n e t t o e s t a b l i s h a th r e ed imensional shape of th e p lan et , the f i g u r e . A p e r s i s t e n td i s crepancy ex i s t s between op t i c a l obse rva t i on s from Ear thand da ta der ive d from th e o r b i t s of th e two moons of Marsand s p a c e c r a f t f ly -b y t r a j e c t o r i e s .

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- 16 -Stud i e s o f t h e Mariner 9 da t a may re so lve t h a t ques t i o n

and w i l l e s t a b l i s h t h e M ar ti an g e oi d , a s t a n da r d s p h e r i c a lrefe ren ce su r f ac e f o r mapping. On E a r t h , t he geo id co inc ideswith mean sea l e v e l i n t h e o ce an s.

D i sc r ep a nc i es o f f i v e t o 1 0 d e gr ee s i n l a t i t u d e andl o n g i t u d e , 290 t o 6 1 0 k i lom ete r s ( 180 t o 380 m i l e s ) a t t h es u r f a c e , a re n o t uncommon between v a ri o u s p ub lis he d maps ofMars. A r e c e n t l y completed 10-yea r Mars Map P r o j e c t , us inga l l Earth-based v i s u a l and photographic da ta from 1 8 7 7 t o1958 may have reduc ed e r r o r s t o about one degree, o r 50k i l o m e t e r s ( 3 1 m i l e s ) , i n re g ions where w e l l d e f i n e d s u r f a c emarkings ( i . e . , a l b e d o v a r i a t i o n s ) a re ava i lab le . One ofth e major mapping ap pl ic a t io ns o f the wide-angle cameraphotography w i l l be t o p r e c i s e l y l o c a t e s u r f a c e markings t oan accuracy of approximately 1.6 k i lom ete r s (one m i l e ) .

D a t a from Mariners 6 and 7 have be en u se d t o e s t a b l i s ha c e n t r a l g r i d w i th u n c e r t a in t i e s i n t h e o r d e r of 1 0 k i l o -meters (6 m i l e s ) .

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- 17 -MARS FACT SHEET

Diameter 6,742 kilometers(4,190 miles)In na on 24.9 degrees

Rotational SpeedMean Distance from S u nDistance from Earth

maximumminimum

Orbital Speed (average)

0.26 kilometers per sec.(0.16 miles per sec.)228,000,000 kilometers(141,500,000 miles)

39 8,8 87,000 kilometers(247,900,000 miles)55,784,000 kilometers(34,670,000 miles)77,000 kilometers per hour(48,000 miles per hour)

Martian Year 687 days, 23 hours

Moons (discovered 1877)Est. DiameterDistance from Mars

Phobos ' D'e'iinos19 kilometers(12 miles) 10 kilometers(6 miles)6,100 kilometers 19,000 kilometers(3,750 miles) (12,000 miles)

Period 7 hr. 39 min. 1 day, 6 hr., 17 min.Orbit Inclination 0.57' lo 18'

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)AY DATE TIME (PST) EVENT REMARKSM 11/8 8OO A MM 11/8 3:16 PM**5:48 PM**M 11/8 6:36 PM

9:17 PMTu 11/9 2 5 6 PM**6:lO PM**Tu 11/9 7:06 PM10:03 PMW 71/10 2:17 PM**Th 11/11 2 5 6 PM**Th 11/11 3:16 PM6 2 3 PM

O F N PRESS. R O O M AT JYCSTART MARS TV CALIBRATION SEQUENCE #1END MARS TV CALIBRATION SEQUENCE #1START PLAYBACK TV CAL. S E Q . # IEND PLAYBACK TV CAL. SEQ. #1TAKE MARS TV CAL. SEQ. #2END MARS TV CAL. S E Q . #2START PLAYBACK MARS TV CAL. S E Q . #2END PLAYBACK MARS TV CAL. S E Q . #2TAKE FAR ENCOUNTER TV -- POS-1EN D POS-1 (PRE-ORB1T SCIENCE-1)

5 "A" Camera pictures (wide-ongle); 22 "B" Camera (narrowang le ) . A l l p ics p layed backto Goldstone @ 16,200 bps.2n d series colibrotion pics;28 "A " f rames.Receive one picture each5 min., 42 sec.25 Mars pics thru one M a r t i a nday. 6 pics of Deimos. Range535,000 to 355,000 miles.TART PLAYBACK POS-1END PLAYBACK POS-1One Mars p ic each hour fo r 24hours. 7 pics of Deimos.Range 325,000 to 160,000miles.

TAKE POS-2-END POS-2Th 11/11 7:02 PM**F 11/12 6 5 4 PM**F 11/12 7:16 PM10:23 PMF 11/12 10:30 PM**So 11/13 8:07 AM**Sa 11/13 4:17 PM**4 2 4 PM4:32 PM**4:39 PM

START PLAYBACK POS-2END PLAYBACK POS-2TAKE POS-3END POS-3ENGINE START -- ORBIT I N S E R T I O N BURNENGINE START -- GRO UND RECEIVE SIGN ALENGINE CUTOFF -- MARINER 9 in ORBITENGINE CUTOFF -- GROUND RECEIVE SIGNAL

Range 130,000 to 70,000miles. Two Phobos; 6 Deimos.Rocket engin e fires for 15 1/2minutes at 300-pounds thrust.Slows s/c by 3600 mph. One-way l igh t t ime i s 6 m. , 43s.A l t i tude 750 to 800 miles.Mors betwe en s/c ond Earth.Occurs each orbit t i l l 12/22.Fino( f&-encounter p i a forMars mosaics; 8 moon pics.

. -

Sa 1 11/13 4:42 PM**Sa 11/13 4:46 PM

5 2 2 PMSo 11/13-'?-:37 PM11 02 PMS u 11/14. 4:41 AM**

5:05 AM*'One pic each 42 seconds. Mop -pin g pass from South Pole.Achieve 12.5-hr. Mars orbit.u 11/14 5:08 AM**

Su 11/14 6 5 7 A M1:37 P MPlayback first 10 pics to Spain@ 2025 bps. 45 min. per pic .Resume 16,200 bps rat e toGolds tone. One each 5 m. 42s.First 16 pics "phose function"experiment with A & B cameras.17-picture A & B mopping pass.

- --- --- --Su 11/14 2:37 PM4 5 5 PMSu 1114 5:OO PM**

5:34 PM**5:37 PM**

_ . _ . -a/. --. .- TART 2n d ORBIT TV

Su 11/14'-6:40 PM9:55 PMSTART 3rd ORBIT TVPERlAPSlS -- ORBIT #3END 3rd ORBIT TVM 11/15 3:45 AM**6OO AM*"6:08 AM**

M 11/15 2 2 2 PM5:37 PM

Ten wide- angle (A) frames forcal ibration; six wide-angle picsof South Pole; 16 wide- angle picson night side.START PLAYBACK ORBIT #3 TVEND PLAYBACK ORBIT #3 TV ISTART 4th ORBIT TVKRlAPSlS -- ORBIT #4E N D 4 t h ORBIT TV

First 16 pics "phose fun ction"exper iment w i th A & B cameras.17-picture A & B mapping pass.M 11/15 -551 PM**

62 5 PM**62 8 PM**

-M 11/15 7:39 PM1 0 5 4 PMTu 11/16 4:36 AM**

65 1 AM**7:OO AM**Tu 11/16 6:46 - 7:16 PM**Tu 11/16 -8-:32 PM11:47 PMW 11/17 '6:46 AM**7 : l O AM**7:13 AM**

START PLAYBACK ORBIT #4 TVEND PLAYBACK ORBIT #4 TVSTART 5th ORBIT TVPERlAPSlS -- ORBIT #5END 5th ORBIT T\ lENGINE BURN -- ORBIT TRIM MANEUVERPERlAPSlS -- ORBIT #6START PLAYBACK ORBIT #5 TVEND PLAYBACK ORBIT #5 TV ,

10 A frames far cal ibrotion;6 A pics of South Pole;16 pics on nigh t side.Ne w orbit period: 11.98 hrs.

n igh t s ide .START 7th ORBIT TVEND 7 th ORBIT TVPERlAPSlS -- ORBIT #7 Mopping sequence from SouthPole (similar to O rbit #l)..

'A 11/17 1:48 PM4 5 6 PMH 11/17 5:05 PM**7:12 PM**7:12 PM**

START PLAYBACK ORBIT 87 TVEND PLAYBACK ORBIT #7 TVSTART 8th ORBIT TVPERIAPSIS -- ORBIT $8END 8th ORBIT TVSTART PLAYBACK ORBIT #8 TVEND PLAYBACK ORBIT #8 TV

I

I

First post-trim "fu l l science"sequence: global, geodesy, poloredge atmospheric. UVS limb andmopping pics.11/17 8:12 PM1120 PM

**Spacecraft event times. Al l others are "Earth Receive"times. (e.g. One-way l i ght t ime at 3 p . m . N o v . 8 is6 min., 20 sec.; At t ime o f o rb i t inser t ion on N ov . 14 ,6 min., 43 sec .)

NA TIO NA L AERONAUTICS AN D SPACE ADMINISTRATIONJET PROPULSION LABORATORY10/27/71

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Mariner 9 Press Kit

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