Preliminary meteorological results on Mars from the viking 1 lander.
The results from the meteorology instruments on the Viking 1 lander are presented for the first 4 sols of operation. The instruments are working satisfactorily. Temperatures fluctuated from a low of 188 degrees K to an estimated maximum of 244 degrees K. The mean pressure is 7.65 millibars with a diurnal variation of amplitude 0.1 millibar. Wind speeds averaged over several minutes have ranged from essentially calm to 9 meters per second. Wind directions have exhibited a remarkable regularity which may be associated with nocturnal downslope winds and gravitational oscillations, or to tidal effects of the diurnal pressure wave, or to both.
Hess
S L
SL
Henry
R M
RM
Leovy
C B
CB
Ryan
J A
JA
Tillman
J E
JE
Chamberlain
T E
TE
Cole
H L
HL
Dutton
R G
RG
Greene
G C
GC
Simon
W E
WE
Mitchell
J L
JL