Spacecraft

Viking 1

Also Known As Thomas Mutch Memorial Station

Mars Orbiter and Lander

Citation Formats

General Reference

Space and Astronomy Atlas. "Viking 1." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://space.interactiveatlas.org/spacecraft/viking-1.

APA Style

Space and Astronomy Atlas. (n.d.). Viking 1. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://space.interactiveatlas.org/spacecraft/viking-1

BibTeX

@misc{spaceandastronomyatlas-viking-1,
  author = {Space and Astronomy Atlas},
  title = {Viking 1},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://space.interactiveatlas.org/spacecraft/viking-1},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

A NASA mission consisting of an orbiter built by JPL and a lander built by Martin Marietta, launched in August 1975 as the first of two identical Viking spacecraft sent to Mars. Its lander touched down in July 1976, becoming the first spacecraft to successfully land on and operate from the Martian surface, and was later named the Thomas Mutch Memorial Station.

Facts

Spacecraft Type

Mars Orbiter and Lander 1

Launch Date

1975-08-20 1

Manufacturer

JPL (orbiter); Martin Marietta (lander) 1

Status

Retired; the lander operated until 11 November 1982, when a faulty ground command ended contact. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Lockheed Martin

Viking 1 was built by Martin Marietta, which merged into Lockheed Martin in 1995; a predecessor-institution fact per the atlas's own voice convention.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)