Word: sites
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...reason for urgency is that cathedral artisans are a dying breed. No two stones in the edifice are alike. Hand-crafted from Indiana Limestone, they are put in place by the 25 skilled stonemasons now on the site. Then there are the eleven stone carvers. The occasional quick temper of the master of the group, Roger Morigi, 68, is immortalized in a carving by a colleague: a Morigi-like head has an atomic bomb cloud forming over it. The stone carvers work under the alert eye of John Fanfani, 52, who is the son and nephew of two carvers...
...Bicentennial spectacular, it was meant to be out of this world: a July 4 touchdown on Mars by Viking 1's robot lander to begin the search for life on the red planet. But true to its name, Mars was being belligerent. The first landing site in the Chryse region appeared so hazardous on careful photographic analysis that Viking scientists concluded late last week that a birthday landing was out. That part of the American celebration would come somewhat later...
...there would be nothing that J.P.L. controllers could do to evade the trouble. Viking's picture signals, traveling at the speed of light, would not reach earth for 18 minutes, long after the little ship touched the surface. Signals from the controllers ordering Viking to avoid the site would take another 18 minutes to return to the craft, far too late to do any good. Russian space scientists can testify to the risks. In their four known attempts to land spacecraft on Mars, one ship missed the planet completely, two apparently crashed, and the fourth transmitted for only...
...space. As it neared its destination a fortnight ago, gathering speed as the pull of Martian gravity increased, Viking took increasingly detailed pictures of Mars. They showed no evidence of the swirling sandstorms that had obscured the surface as Mariner 9 approached in 1971, and the proposed Viking landing site in Chryse was clearly visible. Even more significant to the scientists, the Martian atmosphere showed discernible traces of vapor-and bright patches of ice were visible in several craters. This seemed to be good evidence of the presence, in greater abundance than expected, of the substance essential to life...
Slowed to about 135 m.p.h. by the time it reaches 4,000 ft., Viking will begin firing its three descent engines, separate from its chute and approach the surface at less than 6 m.p.h. So that the landing site will be disturbed as little as possible, each of the braking rockets will fire through a showerhead arrangement of 18 nozzles to diffuse the blast. The rocket fuel is also hydrocarbon-free to avoid confusing Viking's life-seeking instruments. When the first Viking foot pad touches Martian soil, it will trip a sensor that shuts off the engines. Eighteen...