Chapter 2 of 5

Beneath Mister Badger

Moving a rock to investigate a sheltered sample location

Told in Viking 2’s imagined voice · the events are real · source

Plains West of Viking Lander 2
Viking 2My sampler could ask a question a camera could not.
NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona
01Photographs showed the rocks and soil, but instruments needed samples to investigate chemistry. Like my twin, I carried a collector arm to deliver material. The Viking soil tests gave intriguing reactions, not a definitive discovery of life.
What might be different beneath a rock?
02Scientists wanted to examine a place sheltered from the Sun’s intense ultraviolet radiation. A rock offered a different sampling context from exposed soil. That was a reason to compare samples—not proof that the shade contained life or had lasted for millions of years.
Viking Lander 2 Gerald A.
Viking 2I pushed the rock that my controllers called Mister Badger.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
03On October 8, my collector head moved an irregular rock several inches to the left, leaving it tilted upward. Cameras and other information verified the push. NASA’s caption calls the rock Mister Badger; the name does not belong to my arm.
The push made a new sampling place—and another careful plan.
04The published caption describes a sample planned for October 11, followed by organic analyses over the next few weeks. My backhoe had also disturbed some soil. Moving the rock did not magically preserve an untouched sample or settle what the later measurements would mean.

The big idea

Where a sample comes from matters. Images can verify a physical action, while chemistry and context are needed to interpret what comes next.

Think about it

What can pushing a rock show, and what can it not prove about the soil underneath?

Fact file

Rock-pushing sequence
PIA00528 / 8 October 1976
Caption names the rock Mister Badger and describes soil sampling planned for October 11. It does not establish instantaneous sampling or million-year shielding.
Source ↗

In this chapter: Surface sampler collector head, backhoe and camera verification

Sources: Main record · Viking 2 · NASA Science · Viking 2 Lander · NSSDCA

Machine illustration: AI-made. Photos: NASA Image and Video Library, credited on each picture.

Chapter 2 of 5

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