The Martian Hemisphere

NASA  

Martian Hemisphere from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Viking 1, 1976  

watermarked 'This Paper Manufactured by Kodak'  

chromogenic print  

7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches (19.3 x 24 cm)  

Executed in 1976.

Viking program secured its place in history as the first U.S. mission to land a spacecraft safely on the surface of Mars and return images from its surface. This print is of that image. The mission consisted of two identical orbiter-lander pairs, each entering Martian orbit before deploying its lander to the planet below.

Viking 1 touched down on the western slope of Chryse Planitia (“Plains of Gold”), while Viking 2 landed at Utopia Planitia—together marking a defining milestone in humanity’s exploration of Mars.