washington — Less than four years after NASA launched its first successful orbiter to Mars, the space agency sent twin orbiter-landers to the red planet – Viking 1 launched Aug. 20, 197… ...

In 1975, NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, carrying a mission to unlock the secrets of the Red Planet. Soon, it released twin landers that drifted toward the Martian surface ...

Mars as seen by the Viking 1 Orbiter. NASA. 12 / 39. The Viking 1 Lander being tested on Earth. NASA. 13 / 39. Viking 1 being loaded for flight. NASA. 14 / 39. Viking 1 Lander in its aeroshell ...

But once in orbit around Mars, the satellite carrying Viking revealed that the landing site was incredibly rocky, ... First color image of Mars taken by Viking 1 on July 21, 1976.

In Pasadena, California, in the early summer of 1976, the engineers and scientists of NASA's Viking mission hoped to do something no one had ever done before: land a fully operational spacecraft ...

Viking 2 was launched on September 9, 1975, less than a month after Viking 1, which landed on Mars on July 20, 1976. The Viking spacecrafts consisted of an orbiter and a lander, which separated after ...

On July 20, 1976, the Viking 1 Lander became the first spacecraft to safely touch down on the surface of Mars. brought Mars to life and set the stage for years of Martian exploration.

Cydonia, Mars (WHTM) The Viking 1 mission to Mars had already accomplished Amazing Great Things. Launched on August 20, 1975. It arrived in Mars orbit on June 19, 1976. On July 20 the Viking 1 land… ...

Nevertheless, when Viking 1 at last arrived in Mars orbit on 19 June 1976, its cameras, which were improved over those of Mariner 9, returned images that showed that the primary and back-up Viking ...

In 1975, NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, carrying a mission to unlock the secrets of the Red Planet. Soon, it released twin landers that drifted toward the Martian surface and ...

Viking 2's orbiter sprang a leak and was then shut down July 25, 1978, after more than 700 orbits. The lander's batteries died April 11, 1980. (Viking 1's lander worked until Nov. 13, 1982.) ...