PIA00395: The Collector Head Of Viking Lander 1's Surface Sampler


The Collector Head Of Viking Lander 1’s Surface Sampler

Caption:

The collector head of Viking l's surface sampler is full of Martian soil destined for the gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, the instrument which analyzes the surface material for the presence of organic molecules. The material was scooped out of the surface on August 3, but the sampler arm stopped operating while transporting it to the instrument. The Martian soil will be deposited into the instrument's processor today. The surface sampler is operating properly, but the cause of last week's problem is not yet known. This picture, taken Monday (August 9), was made for operational purposes, focusing on the collector head. Hence, the out-of-focus view of the Martian surface.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Viking
Instrument Host Viking 1 Lander
Host Type Lander
Instrument Camera 2
Detector
Extra Keywords Grayscale
Acquisition Date
Release Date 1996-12-12
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00395
Identifier PIA00395