VIKING 1 LANDS ON MARS

 

  On August 20,1975 Viking 1 was launched arriving June 19, 1976 on Mars.  It was on the 11th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing that a planetary probe unmanned by the United States called the Viking 1 became the first spacecraft to land successfully on Mars surface.  The Viking 1 was devoted to finding apppropriate landing sites through images the first month it was in orbit.  Its mission took 11 months and approximately 240 million miles away.  On July 20, 1976 it touched down on Chripe Planitia region of Mars and Viking 1 lander and orbit were separated.  It was then that the first close up photos of the rust colored Mars surface were sent back to NASA.  In September 1976, 3 weeks following Viking 1, another planetary probe called Viking 2 was launched.  Its job was to assist Vikingg 1 in imaging the surface and also to send down a lander.  During the voyae the two landers retrieved over 1400 images of the planets surface.  Each spacecraft had a orbit and a lander.  They travelled almost one year to meet Mars. They took full 360 degree photos.  The Vikings landers collected samples and analyzed the martian soil.  It also monitored wind directions, temperature and wind speed.  The soil was analyzed to be rich in iron and but without any sugestion of life on Mars.  The mission also showed lava plains, hugge canyons and details of volcanos.  The planet was divided into two regions.  Southern cratered highlands and northern low plains.  The views of Mars were revolutionized by the results of the viking experiment. 
 http://science.nasa.gov/missions/viking/
http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/july-20-1976-viking-lands-mars-10252193
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/04/120413-nasa-viking-program-mars-life-space-science/
 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/iviking-1i-lands-on-mars history