In the early days of the space program many at NASA dreamed of extending our reach outside the boundaries of Earth. After the early successes in the space program these dreams seemed much more obtainable. One in particular was to send a space craft to another planet to determine if life existed beyond Earth. This is where the idea for the Viking mission was developed. This extraordinary mission was not only designed to land on the surface of Mars to do basic research, but to also perform scientific experiments to search for life on the Red Planet.

The data retrieved from Viking mission exponentially increased our knowledge of Mars. Volcanoes, canyons, lava plains, craters, and evidence of surface water for the first time became apparent from the Orbiter images. The Viking mission proved to be one of the most successful Missions in NASA history, forever changing our understanding of Mars. In fact, it’s been said that scientists learned more about Mars in the first five minutes of the Viking mission than they learned in the 500 years before it.

Additional Information
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/viking.html