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Viking 1

Image: NASA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Planetary science

Viking 1

Completed

NASA

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Image: NASA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Launched
20 Aug 197521:22:00 UTC
Last contact
11 Nov 1982
Duration
7 years 2 months
Destinations
Mars

The first American mission to land on Mars and the first to operate there for years. Its orbiter mapped the planet while the lander searched the soil for signs of life.

Milestones

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1976197719781979198019811982

Spacecraft

Viking 1 orbiter

Orbiter
Completed

Orbiter that carried the lander to Mars, surveyed landing sites and relayed the lander's data to Earth.

Launch mass
2,328 kg
Dry mass
883 kg
Size
3.3 m × 2 m, span 9.8 m
Power
Solar
Last contact
17 Aug 1980
Designator
1975-075A

Viking 1 lander

Lander
Completed

Lander with a robotic arm, a weather station and three biology experiments, which worked on Chryse Planitia for more than six years.

Launch mass
685 kg
Dry mass
590 kg
Size
1 m × 2.8 m, span 2.8 m
Power
Radioisotope
Last contact
11 Nov 1982
Designator
1975-075C

Mission details from science.nasa.gov.