NASAs Viking Mission Two Laboratories on the Surface of Mars

NASA s Viking Mission Two Laboratories on the Surface of Mars 

Earth s nearest planetary neighbor, has fascinated since ancient times. The Italian astronomer Giovanni V. Schiaparelli (1835-1910) observed Mars from Milan and drew pictures of canali ( canals ) in 1877. Harvard-educated astronomer Percival Lowell (1855-1916) moved to Flagstaff, Arizona and, in 1894, began many years of Mars observations. 

Earth follows a nearly circular path around the sun completing a cycle in one year. The 23.5° tilt of Earth s axis is responsible for the four seasons. Mars has an axis tilted to a very similar degree to that of Earth. The seasonal contrasts on Mars are enhanced because its orbit departs from circular and it is closer to the Sun during part of the Martian year. Lowell observed significant seasonal color changes on Mars and shrinking and expansion of its polar ice caps. He imagined construction of the above-mentioned canali by an advanced civilization. H. G. Wells published his novel The War of the Worlds in 1898 and Lowell published a book titled Mars as the Abode of Life in 1908. 

Viking lander for Mars mission launched in summer 1975 for the purpose of conducting biological and chemical analyses and tests on Martian soil 

Earth showing the reddish surface and pink-hued atmosphere. Nothing visible crawled or walked past the cameras. The GC/MS detected no organic matter in the Martian soil at part-per-billion (ppb) levels. The surface of Mars has nearly 20 percent oxides of iron. 

---