Labels: text | screenshot OCR: VIKING 1 AND 2 LANDER EQUIPEMENT The lander The lander, weighing 1193 kilos, is composed of a landing system and a ground station. The landing system has two main elements: a shield and a The shield, made of fiberglass on an aluminum structure, parachute. is shaped like a cone with a 140'opening. Its base diameter is 3.6 meters and it measures 1.91 meters in height. The shield's function is to slow the lander's speed as it enters the thicker layers of the Martian atmosphere beginning at an altitude of 240 kilometers. Maximal deceleration occurs between 30 and 24 kilometers of altitude. The shield is also a "working" unit, because it is equipped with a spectrometer designed to analyze the composition of the Martian atmosphere. During descent, the atmosphere enters a small orifice and is subjected to electric and magnetic measurements. Similarly, the shield has captors to take temperature and pressure readings. MARS BETAT
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