NASA’s Viking Missions May Have Accidentally Killed Martian Life 50 Years Ago
During the 1970s, NASA dispatched two twin expeditions, Viking I and Viking II, towards Mars, the Red Planet. Each expedition included an orbiter and a lander, enabling astronomers to study Mars from two distinct angles. Viking I made its landing on the western part of Chryse Planitia on July 20, 1976, while Viking II touched down at Utopia Planitia approximately two months later, on September 3, 1976.