Today in the history of astronomy, a spacecraft makes the first successful Mars landing.
Viking 1 returned it, the first image from the surface of Mars, immediately after landing. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
- Viking 1 was the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and send data back.
- The orbiter of Viking 1 helped select the landing site of the lander.
- Both Orbiter and Lander sent information about the surface and atmosphere of Mars.
- Mission discovered signs of life on Mars.
Viking landed on Mars on 1 20 July 1976, the first spacecraft to do so and successfully returned the data. (Soviet Mangal 3 Lander touched below in 1971, but the contact was cut before any data was obtained.) The two Viking spacecraft was designed for both orbiters and landers; The primary goal of the orbiter was to send the photo back to help scientists to help select the right location on the surface for its landing. Viking 1 entered the Orbit on June 19, 1976, in which photographs of some area in the cris region sent back, which inspired NASA to choose a new landing site on Chris Planning. Orbiter continued to function for four years further, while the lander operated until November 1982, returning information about both red planets, which could be used to mark its surface and atmosphere and search for life.
