Earth's first peek at Mars' surface, taken on July 20, 1976.
Dubai - It also marked the beginning of the never-ending search for evidence of life on the Red Planet
Published: Thu 20 Jul 2017, 5:18 PM
Updated: Thu 20 Jul 2017, 7:42 PM
On August 20, 1975, NASA launched Viking 1 with one important purpose: to find proof that life existed on Mars.
It was supposed to be 10-month journey, and its landing was delayed because scientists had to look for a safer landing spot. It eventually touched down on the Red Planet on July 20, 1976 - coincidentally the seventh anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Shorty thereafter, Viking 1 snapped the first-ever photo of Mars' surface, giving us Earthlings an idea of how things were in it.
Aside from the above, the mission also included taking more high-resolution shots of the planet, and characterise the composition and structure of its atmosphere and surface.
Another claim to fame of Viking 1: it held the record for the longest Mars surface mission of 2,307 days (or 2,245 sols), until it was broken by Opportunity in 2010.
Sols, or solar days, by the way, is the way astronomers measure a solar day in Mars; its equivalent is 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35.244 seconds.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com
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