July-August 1982:the Voyager Mars project

The Voyager programme began in 1960 as a planning
objective of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Biological studies
played a key role; the lander was to be equipped with an
Automated Biological Laboratory that would look for energy
transfer and conversion, macro-molecules, reproduction and
growth, substances associated with Earth life and evidence of
molecular organisation.
In 1964, the space science board of the National Academy
of Sciences stated that life on Mars was possible and that a
high priority programme should be established to study it. Others were not so sure. Dr. Barry Commoner, from
Washington University, said at a meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science that because there
was no liquid water on Mars, there was no reasonable chance
of life and therefore no need to go looking for it. He accused
the board of over-rating the possibility. NASA responded
by saying that life was at least possible so that the emphasis
was on biology.

Technical Features and Re-orientation

Voyager was to be a three part spacecraft launched by
Saturn lB/Centaur. The spacecraft bus carried the solar panels,
the radio dish and the experiment package. Weight was to be
approximately 1,800 lbs (816 kg). The retro-propulsion system
contained the rockets arid fuel tanks for attitude control,
mid-course correction and Mars orbiting insertion. The unit
weighed between 2,200 and 4,400 lbs (998 to 1,995 kg). The
third part was the capsule/lander; shaped like the Apollo
Command Module, and its weight ranged from 1,000 to 6,000 lbs (454 to 2,722 kg) depending on the specific mission. After the heating phase of atmospheric entry, the lander would separate
and be lowered to the surface by parachute.
Two Voyagers were to be launched during every Mars
launch window from 1969 to 1977, each more complicated
than the last. Total cost of the programme would be $1,000
million.

On 14 July 1965, Mariner 4 flew past Mars, sending back
results that were devastating to Voyager. The capsule design
was based on a 10 or 11 millibar pressure at Mars’ surface but
when the atmospheric data was analysed, it indicated only 5
to 7 millibars - too low for parachutes to be used all the way
to the surface. This meant a retro-system would have to be
included on the lander and the atmospheric entry path would
have to be more shallow.

By the end of 1965, Voyager had entered a two year period
of re-designing. Unspent funding was redirected to revitalise the Mariner programme. This provided for a mission to Venus in 1967, a dual fly-by of Mars in 1969 and, in 1971, two Mars
orbiters.

The New Voyager

The post-Mariner 4 Voyager was about triple the weight of
the earlier version. It still, however, retained the three part
construction. The capsule’s shape was flatter, more disc-like.
Total capsule/lander weight was about 5,000 lbs (2,268 kg); later
mission weights could go to 7,000 lbs (3,175 kg). Unlike the
earlier version, the capsule would remain attached to the bus
when it entered orbit. The lander would weigh 860 to 1,500 lbs
(390 to 680 kg) and was similar in design to the Surveyor Moon
lander. The bus weighed 2,500 lbs (1,134 kg) empty and the
greatest increase was in the retro-propulsion system. It now
weighed 13,000 to 15,000 lbs (5,896 to 6.803 kg) due to the
capsule being retained in orbit. Total weight would be 20,500
to 24,500 lbs (9,298 to 11,113 kg).
A pair of Voyagers would be launched aboard a single Saturn
5 in missions flown in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1979. Total
programme cost had climbed to $2,400 million; money was
becoming a central issue for Voyager.

In early March 1966, the House Space Science and Applications sub-committee issued its recommendations on the
NASA budget. It urged that Congress take a larger role in
determining the scope and direction of the space programme.
It proposed that Mariner Venus 67 be cancelled and the $42
million be used to speed up the exploration of Mars. $20
million would be added to the Mariner Mars 69 project and
$22 million to the $10 million Voyager request. When the
NASA budget for 1966 was finally approved that summer, the
1967 Venus mission had survived and $13 million was added
to Voyager.

When the Voyager budget came up for Congressional action
in 1967, it faced a far different reception. In the six years since
President Kennedy had launched America toward the Moon,
much had changed. The cold war had faded, Kennedy was
dead, the Vietnam War was stirring protest marches and cities
were torn by race riots. That January the Apollo fire had killed
Grissom, White and Chaffee. Under such conditions, the
NASA budget made a tempting target. The Voyager request
totalled $71.5 million.

When the NASA budget emerged from
the House and Senate space committees, it had undergone
major cuts. Mariner Mars 71, Sunblazer, the Commercial Broadcast
Satellite, the large solid fuel rocket programme, the Electronic
Research Center, Apollo Application Program and Voyager
had all been hit. The House committee had reduced the
Voyager authorization to $50 million and the Senate committee
had eliminated it entirely. On the floor of the Congress, the
debate was set in terms of health care, food and the city
problems versus space. The differing House and Senate bills
had to be reconciled in committee and Voyager was one area
of contention. The House members wanted funding restored,
while Senate members were willing to provide some funding
to Voyager if the House would agree to larger cuts in the
Apollo Applications Program in. Voyager emerged with
$42 million.

On 18 August 1967, the House eliminated all funding for
Voyager. The NASA authorization bill had been cut by $516
million, meaning that the US space programme had been
reduced to Apollo only. The AAP programme was limited in
scope and the planetary programme curtailed severely. Beyond
the mid-1970’s, there were no authorised programmes. To keep
Mars exploration alive, NASA could propose that Voyager be
delayed until 1975 or a small orbiter/lander could be developed
for launch by a Titan III Centaur. The first option was not
realistic and the other ran the risk of irritating Congress after
it had cut a planetary programme. However, the second option
was selected, ultimately to become Viking.