Saturday, September 3, 2016

Viking 2 lands on Mars 1976

Martian sunrise vis-a-vis Viking 2

The Viking 2 spacecraft which was launched Sept 9, 1975, landed on Mars September 3, 1976.  Its sister craft Viking 1 landed just a few weeks earlier on June 20.  Viking 2 achieved orbit on August 7 and the lander detached itself on September 3.

The orbiter continued in orbit until it was deactivated July 25, 1978.  The lander operated until April 11, 1980 when its batteries failed.

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