Several photos of the Viking Launches and the spacecraft are available only in the exhibit area. Some of these may be scanned and may be available in future versions of this site which will be continually updated.
The voyage of the Viking 1 spacecraft begins spectacularly on August 20, 1975 (right). Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a Titan Centaur 3 booster, Viking 1 would arrive at Mars the following June 19, and send its lander to the Martian surface on July 20. Not to be outdone (left), Viking 2 makes an equally fiery exit on September 9, 1975, and a lander touchdown on September 3. Specifications called for the Vikings to operate for only 90 days after landing, but in reality the last message would be sent from Mars to Earth in November, 1982, more than six years later.