First Pictures From Mars Remembered by NASA Viking Mission Team

The first color image taken from the Martian surface, by NASA's Viking 1 lander on July 21, 1976, revealed a pink sky.

Credit: NASA/JPL

In 1976, Humans acquired their first pictures from the surface of the Red Planet. The NASA team behind the historic first recalls receiving the transmission that carried the imagery. Viking at 40: How NASA Mission Brought Mars Into the Light The world got its first up-close look at Mars 40 years ago today (July 20), when NASA's Viking 1 lander touched downon the Red Planet.
Viking 1 beamed home two photographs shortly after its historic arrival, then went on to capture the awesome vistas of Mars in many more images — and collect data that reshaped scientists' understanding of the Red Planet.
Viking 1 and its sister Viking 2, which touched down on Sept. 3, 1976, allowed scientists to learn a great deal about Martian landforms, rocks and soil, as well as the planet's interior structure, wind and atmosphere. The duo also famously conducted life-detection experiments whose results are still being debated four decades later.

[Viking 1: The Historic First Mars Landing in Pictures]

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