May 22 1983
From The Space Library
Final attempts to contact the Viking 1 lander on Mars failed, and JPL spokesman said that they would try no more "unless NASA Headquarters changes its mind." The craft outlived its 90-day guarantee by years; it was survivor of a pair of two-part spaceships, each including an orbiter that circled Mars while its robot laboratory sampled and photographed the planet's surface. Viking 2's lander and Viking 1's orbiter went mute in April 1980. The $500-million project returned data on Mars, including pictures of rust-red rocks and boulders, dust storms, and periodic layers of frost; recorded temperatures ranged from 124124F below zero. (NY Times, May 23/83, A-17; W Post, May 23/83, A-8)
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