Decision to Wait

The policy debates continued within NASA and among NASA, its scientific ad­visors, OMB, and others. There were doubts that a Viking 3 could be developed in time for a 1981 launch and maybe not even a 1984 launch window. NASA kept looking for a “compelling reason” to propose Viking 3 to Ford. The Cold War competition argument no longer worked since the United States had “won” the Mars race. Media reports described NASA as being in a “pressure cooker” on Mars decision making in early December.18 Hinners recalls his feeling at the time that he did not want to put Hubble and Galileo—which OMB had ap­proved for new starts—at risk. He also remembered “a sense that other missions had waited on Mars, and now it was their turn.” Without question, advocates for Hubble and Galileo lobbied hard, and the Mars advocacy coalition was com­paratively splintered and exhausted. In the end, Hinners said, “We decided to wait and digest the knowledge coming out of Viking.”19

The president’s science advisor announced the decision on December 16 in discussing Ford’s last budget (FY 1978). H. Guyford Stever said there was money for “a large, orbiting telescope and a mission to place a photographic satellite in orbit around Jupiter.” But Stever stated that NASA’s budget would not include additional money to begin work on another Viking that would be launched in 1981 and land on Mars. He noted, however, that a launch could be accomplished in 1984, or later, depending on future decisions to be made.20 These would have to be made by a new president, along with a new NASA Administrator.

With the decision to pass up the 1981 opportunity, the bulk of the Viking team disbanded, starting with Martin. With no Viking 3 immediately ahead, and Langley no longer the lead center, Martin decided to leave NASA for a job as vice president for Martin Marietta, the Viking contractor. There would be an “extended mission” to analyze data from Viking, NASA said. That would keep a modest portion of the Viking team busy for a while. But Martin was going, and in a bittersweet farewell visit to Langley in mid-December he stated that Viking would be the highlight of his career. “A lot of people haven’t had this experience and never will,” Martin said. “It would be selfish of us to want more than one. Viking has been tough.” As for the question of life: “We haven’t found ‘life’ on Mars, but we also haven’t found ‘no life’ on Mars. Maybe it’s not like Earth—to me that is possible too.” As for whether Viking was worth $1 billion, Martin was emphatic: “Absolutely.”21