Viking 1

Mission

Viking 1

• Type: Planetary Science
• Orbit: Heliocentric N/A

Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft (along with Viking 2) sent to Mars as part of NASA’s Viking program. On July 20, 1976, it became the first spacecraft to land successfully on Mars and perform its mission. Viking 1 held the record for the longest Mars surface mission of 2307 days or 2245 sols until that record was broken by Opportunity on May 19, 2010.

Location

Space Launch Complex 41

Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 41 has witnessed the launch of 111 rockets, including 111 orbital launch attempts, while Cape Canaveral, FL, USA, has been the site for 943 rocket launches.

Rocket

Lockheed Martin Titan IIIE

Agency

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin’s Space Division started in the production of missiles and later ICBM’s in the 1950s. Their TITAN missile system was used for 12 Gemini spacecraft and the Voyager probes. They have worked largely in collaboration with NASA on many of their probes, landers, and spacecraft, and hope to play a key role in NASA’s return to the moon in 2024.