Viking '75 Mars Lander Thermal Switch

Last crawled date: 11 months, 1 week ago

Thermal switch for a Viking '75 Mars lander. Two such switches allowed for controlled conductance of heat from the lander's two Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) into the lander body interior. Bringing heat into the lander during the cold Martian winter was important for successful operation of the lander's internal components, particularly the rechargeable batteries and electronics. The model includes two configurations: when the switch is closed (to conduct maximum heat from an RTG into the lander), and when open (to conduct minimum heat). Layers or tags control which configuration is visible. Green tinted components are approximate based on limited reference material.