VL1 MARS METEOROLOGY: Binned Pressure, Temperature, and Wind Data for Sols 1-350

NASA's Viking Lander 1 mission collected Martian atmospheric data for the first 350 sols (Mars solar days). This dataset contains daily binned mean values for pressure, temperature, and wind speed (zonal and meridional), with a gap between sols 117 and 133. Wind direction data after sol 45 was recovered using specialized techniques, as documented in MURPHY_1986.

Use Cases

• Analyze diurnal Martian weather cycles based on 25 daily bins of atmospheric data.
• Model Martian atmospheric pressure and temperature trends based on mean values over 350 sols.
• Study wind patterns and recovery techniques based on zonal and meridional wind speed data after sensor failure.
• Compare pre- and post-failure meteorological observations based on data from before and after sol 45.

Strengths

• Data covers a significant temporal range of 350 Martian sols (solar days).
• Provides processed, binned mean values for key atmospheric variables: pressure, temperature, and wind speed.
• Includes data recovery techniques for wind direction after a sensor failure on sol 45.

Limitations

• A data gap exists between sols 117 and 133.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data from the Viking Meteorology Instrument System (VMIS), binned and processed.

Time Range

Covers Viking Lander 1 mission sols 1-350 (with a gap from sols 117-133).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 05:01:56.129657; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Mars (Viking Lander 1 site).