00:00 On this day in space.
00:03 In 1980, NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft ended its epic and historic mission on the Red Planet.
00:09 Viking 1 was the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars.
00:12 It was one of two Viking missions NASA launched in 1975 to go look for evidence of life on Mars.
00:18 Each of the Viking missions were composed of an orbiter and a lander.
00:21 Viking 1's orbiter took photos of the Martian surface that helped NASA decide where to drop the lander.
00:26 After four years of orbiting Mars, the orbiter ran out of attitude control propellant, so NASA had to shut it down.
00:32 The lander continued its scientific observations for another three years before it lost contact with NASA in 1983.
00:39 And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:42 [ ♪ ]
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