Viking 1 & 2 | The Twin Martian Orbiter And Lander Spacecraft

Viking 1 composed of an orbiter and lander which both orbited Mars while a target landing zone was selected.
The Viking orbiters were based on the Mariner spacecraft design.
Both Viking orbiters were powered by large solar panels. These provided 620 W of power for their camera’s and radio equipment to communicate with Earth!
The images returned from the Viking orbiters revolutionized scientist’s view of how water had shaped the planet’s surface features.
The Viking orbiter also took the first close up images of Phobos, one of Mars small moons!
The Viking 1 orbiter operated and imaged Mars for 5 years.
The Viking landers had to survive a fiery entry through the atmosphere, before descending to the surface by parachute and an automated rocket burn.
On July 20, 1976, the Viking 1 lander became the first spacecraft to land successfully on Mars!
It would also send the first images back to Earth from the surface of the Red Planet.
The Viking 1 lander operated on the Martian surface for 2,307 days! A record it held until the rover Opportunity overtook it in 2010.

The Viking 2 orbiter returned more than 16,000 images and made over 700 orbits of Mars.
The orbiter also took the first close up images of Deimos, one of Mars small moons!
The orbiter was turned off after a leak in its liquid-fuelled propulsion system developed.
It is not currently known whether the Viking 1 & 2 orbiters are still in orbit around Mars or have burnt-up and crashed on its surface.
Once on the surface, the Viking 2 lander had a mass of over 600 kgs (1320lbs)!
It returned some iconic panoramic colour images of the red-tinged rock covered desert of Mars.
The Viking landers attempted to search for signs of life. It was considered likely to exist in the Martian soil.
Both Viking landers were powered by small radioisotope generators (also known as RTGs) – these are basically little nuclear power generators!
The lander operated on the surface until April 11, 1980, when its batteries failed.