VO1/VO2 MARS ATMOSPHERIC WATER DETECTOR 4 V1.0

This data set consists of the raster-averaged radiant intensities and associated data parameters produced from data acquired by the Mars Atmospheric Water Detectors (MAWD) onboard the Viking Orbiters. The basic observations give temporal coverage spanning just over two martian years and variable, but extensive, spatial coverage of the planet. MAWD was a five-channel grating spectrometer measuring solar radiation reflected from the surface and atmosphere of Mars in and out of water vapor bands in the 1.4 micrometer spectral interval. The data set described here contains the solar reflected radiant intensities (i.e., radiances) measured by MAWD, derived water vapor column abundances, a derived '1.4-micrometer brightness', and ancillary data (e.g., viewing geometry, surface elevation and air mass). Column water vapor abundances were derived by comparing the reflected radiant intensities in three water vapor absorption bands to radiant intensities in the two interspersed continua observed air mass and then normalized by the air mass to obtain a vertical column abundance. A basic description of the instrument, its observational modes and its derived data products is given in [FARMER_ETAL_1977]. A description of the global and seasonal variation of water vapor on Mars, based on the complete MAWD observational record, is given in [JAKOSKY_FARMER_1982]. This data set was generated from the raster-level data base constructed during the Viking Mission on the original data processing system (IRPS: Infrared Processing System) by the MAWD Science Team, led by C. B. Farmer, JPL. Together with the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) radiances and geometry, the raster-level radiances, associated water column abundances and ancillary data have been archived at the NSSDC (NSSDC id 75-075A-03A, 75-083A-03A). Data from the final phase of the VO-1 mission were added, supervised by R. Zurek, JPL. Eventually, the data set was restructured, additional quality flags were introduced, and a second estimate of the water vapor column abundance (WFAPT, termed COLUMN_H2O_A in the data set) was added [by R. Zurek, JPL [JAKOSKY_ETAL_1988].]. The data base was restructured, while preserving key unique parameters, into a consistent format with the Viking Orbiter Infrared Thermal Mapper (IRTM) data [R. Mehlman, R. Zurek]. Both the MAWD and IRTM data sets were then accessible with the XXFUNC package. Further quality checking of the MAWD data was carried out by B. Jakosky, U. Colorado.

Data and Resources

This dataset has no data

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Planetary Data System
Last Updated September 14, 2026, 23:26 (UTC)
Created March 9, 2026, 20:53 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id 1f28b110-40ef-40a5-800a-921a2bc0c91c
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier urn:nasa:pds:context_pds3:data_set:data_set.vo1-vo2-m-mawd-4-v1.0;urn:nasa:pds:context_pds3:data_set:data_set.vo1-vo2-m-mawd-4-v1.0::1.0
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-09-07T22:16:00Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher Planetary Atmospheres
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 5b04a4c134f8801011360251328d58ce4a0eca30d0ad90bfec627433ba9ce5e2
source_schema_version 1.1
theme {"Planetary Science"}