50th Anniversary of NASA's Viking 1 Mars Lander Touchdown (1976-2026)

50th Anniversary of NASA's Viking 1 Mars Lander Touchdown (1976-2026)

NASA’s Viking 1 lander touched down on Mars 50 years ago today. 30 years later, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) photographed the site from space.

First Color Image from Viking Lander 1

Sunset at the Viking Lander 1 Site

Vivid Colors of the Viking Lander 1 Scene

Viking Lander 1 U.S. Flag on Mars Surface

Northeast View from Viking Landing Site

High Resolution Image from Viking Lander 1

Titan III-Centaur carrying the Viking 1 Lander lifted off on August 20, 1975

NASA’s Viking 1 lander touched down on Mars fifty years ago today. The lander arrived on Mars on July 20, 1976 at the western slope of Chryse Planitia (the Plains of Gold), the first successful Mars lander in history. Chryse Planitia is a smooth circular plain in the northern equatorial region of Mars close to the Tharsis region to the west, centered at 28.4°N 319.7°E. Viking 1 operated on Mars for 2,307 days, over 6 years, or 2245 Martian solar days, the longest extraterrestrial surface mission until the record was broken by NASA's Mars Opportunity rover on May 19, 2010. Thirty years later, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) photographed the landing area from space. Today, NASA’s orbiters and rovers continue to uncover the story of the Red Planet and prepare the way for future exploration. Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft, along with Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander, sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program.

Learn more about the Viking Project:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking-1/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-1/

Image Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Release Date: July 20, 2026

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