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#1 2025-12-07 07:56:14
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 30,857
Viking Landers
I was surprised that we did not have a seperate topic for the firsts steps to a planet not ours.
NASA's Viking 1 landed on Mars on July 20, 1976, in the Chryse Planitia region, becoming the first successful US lander on the planet, sending back the first close-up photos and extensive data about the Martian surface, atmosphere, and geology, including surprising chemical activity but no definitive signs of life, operating far beyond its planned 90 days.
Key Details:
Launch:
August 20, 1975, on a Titan-Centaur rocket.
Landing Date:
July 20, 1976 (the same day as the Apollo 11 anniversary).
Landing Site:
Chryse Planitia (the "Golden Plains").
Technology:
Used heat shields, parachutes, and descent engines with 18 nozzles to minimize soil disturbance, protecting potential life.
Science Goals:
Searched for life, analyzed soil chemistry, imaged the surface, and studied the atmosphere and weather.
Key Findings:
Discovered volcanic soil, a thin CO2 atmosphere, evidence of ancient water, and enigmatic soil chemistry, but no confirmed life.
Longevity:
Operated far longer than its 90-day goal, with the lander sending its last data in November 1982.Significance:
Viking 1 (and its twin, Viking 2) revolutionized understanding of Mars, providing the first comprehensive look at its surface and paving the way for future missions to the Red Plan
It is just one of the city sites to target for mars first colonization.
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#2 2025-12-07 08:00:10
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
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Re: Viking Landers
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking-1/
We have longed to get man on mars and how many landers or rovers do we need before we attempto see man on mars?
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#3 2025-12-07 08:05:59
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
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Re: Viking Landers
First images where we saw Frost 
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#4 2025-12-08 11:38:09
- GW Johnson
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- From: McGregor, Texas USA
- Registered: 2011-12-04
- Posts: 6,273
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Re: Viking Landers
Note that the Viking landers were low and squat, like the Surveyors and Apollo LM's that went to the moon. The footpads were quite large, too. They pretty much met the criteria for rough-field landings, especially with the far less sophisticated robot guidance of ~50 years ago. Both survived. I am not surprised. Most of the other US Mars landers followed the same pattern, except for the two airbag designs.
As for the frost, depending upon the Martian season, both water and carbon dioxide are frost formers. Most of the Martian year, it is water. But in the dead of winter, it is cold enough to form dry ice, too.
GW
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
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#5 2026-08-13 06:46:50
- tahanson43206
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- Registered: 2018-04-27
- Posts: 25,892
Re: Viking Landers
LinkedIn sent out a post by a writer remembering the 50th Anniversary of the Viking landing.
Thanks to SpaceNut and GW Johnson for setting up this topic!
Here is a bit of the report that showed up in the LinkedIn mailing today. There are quite a few links to related reports.
NewMars.com/forums
View Rachel Tillman, AIAA Associate Fellow, CIG, DSCE’s graphic link
Rachel Tillman, AIAA Associate Fellow, CIG, DSCEViking Mars Missions Education and Preservation Project (501c3)
Growing up in aerospace you learn to respect and admire individuals not only for launches and theoretical confirmations but for the effort they put in and the willingness to make mistakes.
You learn that some people come to stand in the spotlight whereas others avoid the it and are in their offices, labs, and field problem solving and pursuing perfection, even if "perfection is the enemy of good enough" said by Noel Hinners in one of many conversations I had with him in his last days.
You see, those that flourish in the spotlight often spend more time worrying about how they look than the problem that needs solving. And often they dont make room for others. The problem is... space IS hard, so it takes teams, not icons to achieve goals, and too many egos makes space even harder.
And after the mission... we dont hear about the quiet, awkward, and even sometimes disheveled ones, but THEY are the backbone, the circulation system, of the mission.
Today's social media has accentuated a problem we already have - fixating on the wrong heros. Promoting those who look good or want to be in selfies. Those who fit the aesthetic of social media influencers or are "clever" in an interview to help boost "likes" of the "Science Communicator" a term being over used by many who are using it just to be seen.
(I know I know that is controversial). But think about it... how many "Educators" seem to focus more on their own lives and looks instead of the subject matter.
But our work at the
Viking Mars Missions Education and Preservation Project (VMMEPP),
tries to fix that, sharing the hard work of those more humble behind the scenes folks. This is a challenge. Not only to find these people, like Chuck Engle, Norm Crabill, Al Treder, Anna Plott... thousands of others... but to even convince them their stories and work are important and deserve preservation. But we do, and their work isnt recorded often even in the archived papers, because not everyone on a team was awarded, or even recognized then. So our work at VMMEPP is the only record of their work.
It isn't pretty all the time. And neither are we. We don't have fancy backdrops and sets and I avoid the camera as much as possible personally because Viking is the subject, not me!
Think about it... do you want an engineer or scientist worried about how many likes their social media has, or focusing on debugging launch sw commands, designing or welding hardware without fatal flaws?
Let's celebrate the illusive workers that make it happen because our future mission success will be determined by hard work and quality not social media presence and good looks.
And if you want to meet some of the folks behind the scenes on Viking, come to the
50th Anniversary Celebration July 18th THIS SATURDAY in Hampton VA at the Virginia Air and Space Science Center ALL DAY!
hashtag#SpaceIsHard
hashtag#SpaceHistory
hashtag#AerospaceEngineering
hashtag#SpaceScience
hashtag#Mars
hashtag#Viking50thAnniversary
hashtag#FunctionOverForm
hashtag#VMMEPP
The celebration July 18th has come and gone as this LinkedIn message arrived, but the hashtags should still work.
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#6 2026-09-15 07:22:28
- tahanson43206
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- Registered: 2018-04-27
- Posts: 25,892
Re: Viking Landers
Today (September 15, 2026) LinkedIn sent out another reminder of the 50th Viking anniversary.
1 of 1
Rachel Tillman, AIAA Associate Fellow, CIG, DSCE - Spoken Work Creator posted: Open to the public from 10am to 4pm Meet and Listen to Past and Current Space…Rachel Tillman, AIAA Associate Fellow, CIG, DSCE
Viking Mars Missions Education and Preservation…
Open to the public from 10am to 4pm Meet and Listen to Past and Current Space Exploration Leaders and… see more
Following up:
AI OverviewThe Viking Mars Missions Education & Preservation Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to documenting, preserving, and sharing the history of NASA's historic Viking program. [1] (https://www.facebook.com/VikingMarsMission/)Key Activities and MissionArchival Preservation: The project preserves over 2,000 square feet of original mission archives, magnetic data tapes, documentation, and the only Viking flight-qualified lander not on Mars. [1] (https://www.facebook.com/VikingMarsMiss … 586811774/)
Public Education: Founded and directed by aerospace historian Rachel Tillman, the project organizes public and student workshops, oral history interviews with mission personnel, and educational exhibits.
[1] (https://www.leonarddavid.com/virtual-lo … n-project/),
[2] (https://whyy.org/segments/did-the-vikin … fe-or-not/),
[3] (https://www.facebook.com/VikingMarsMission/),
[4] (https://www.facebook.com/VikingMarsMiss … 586811774/)Digital Outreach: It partners with platforms like Google Arts & Culture to make hundreds of historical artifacts, mission bulletins, and instrument specifications available online.
[1] (https://artsandculture.google.com/story … ktIw?hl=en),
[2] (https://www.leonarddavid.com/virtual-lo … n-project/)Community Events: The organization coordinates public talks, presentations, and anniversary celebrations (such as events hosted with the Virginia Air & Space Science Center).
[1] (https://larcalumni.org/the-viking-mars- … n-project/),
[2] (https://www.facebook.com/VikingMarsMission/),
[3] (https://www.facebook.com/VikingMarsMiss … 586811774/)
If you're interested, would you like information on how to request a talk or educational presentation, details about accessing their digital archives, or specifics regarding the 1976 Viking landing milestones?
[1] (https://www.leonarddavid.com/virtual-lo … n-project/),
[2] (https://www.facebook.com/VikingMarsMiss … 586811774/),
[3]https://www.google.com/search?/=product … ibp=oshop)
FacebookThe Viking Mars Missions Education & Preservation Project - TM (@VikingMarsMission) • FacebookOrganization: The Viking Mars Missions Education & Preservation Project (501c3 nonprofit).
Mission: Preserving, documenting, and r...Inside Outer Space
Virtual Look Back: Viking Mars Program Preservation ProjectJan 25, 2016 — Partnership: Viking Mars Missions Education & Preservation Project (VMMEPP) and Google Cultural Institute. Artifacts: Over 300 his...
Facebook·The Viking Mars Missions Education & Preservation Project - TM
The Viking Mars Missions Education & Preservation Project at ...Sep 12, 2026 — Virtual reality experiences, Q&A with scientists, engineers and more of Ames research center. Panel - The Artemis Generation: NASA...Show all
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#7 2026-09-15 07:36:57
- tahanson43206
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- Registered: 2018-04-27
- Posts: 25,892
Re: Viking Landers
While Louis was active in NewMars, he advocated creation of "Sagan City" near the Viking I landing site.
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 97#p152597
Personally I favour the NE corner of Chryse Planitia.
https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/target/marsmap1b.jpg
...about 35 degrees West and 25 degrees North.
(North East of the Viking 1 Lander Site)
However, whatever location is chosen will be a compromise. Chryse Planitia is not too far away from Olympus Mons and Valles Marineris - two interesting locations and future tourism destinations. The water content in the regolith in that area is supposed to be around 4-6%, so exploitable. There is iron ore in the area. And it's flat for landing. The landing site has to be pretty flat so either it will be a plain or in the middle of a very large crater...more likely a plain I think.
50 years on from the landing, "Sagan City" remains a vision known only to readers of NewMars.
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#8 2026-09-15 08:08:32
- tahanson43206
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- Registered: 2018-04-27
- Posts: 25,892
Re: Viking Landers
This is a follow up to Post #7
The woman who's been leading the effort to remember Viking is the daughter of a gent who worked on Viking.
The Viking Mars Missions Education & Preservation Project - TM
September 6 at 10:45PM
·
I have been working on preserving the Viking mission with my father since he first spoke to my classroom in 1979. Our connection was forged through the mission, but until now I have not written about his work specifically other than a brief mention when I discuss Viking. This month I published an article on Viking with his alma mater - MIT. I also provided in depth information for a more robust article they also published, but composed by John Tylko, an MIT grad on the AIAA History Committee I have been serving on for several years. Enjoy this little bitty piece on my Dad in MITs Technology Review.
Rachel Tillman, Founder
https://www.technologyreview.com/ the-martian-weatherman << URL was damaged during copyHere is a working copy: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/0 … FeK2ZN3REw
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