Editing Space Race (section)

==== Mars landings ====
[[File:PIA00572-MarsRock-BigJoe-19970228.jpg|thumb|Surface of Mars taken by Viking 1.<ref>{{Cite web |title=28. "Big Joe" Boulder |url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/winds/slide_28.html |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=www.lpi.usra.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Catalog Page for PIA00572 |url=https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00572 |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref>]]In 1971, the Soviet's [[Mars 2]] successfully established Mars orbit and attempted a soft landing but crashed, becoming the first man-made object to impact Mars. This was shortly followed by [[Mars 3]], a 358&nbsp;kg lander, which successfully landed but the lander only transmitted data for 14.5 seconds before losing contact.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mars 3 Lander |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1971-049F |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}</ref>

In 1976, NASA followed suit, and put two successful landers on Mars. These were [[Viking 1]] and [[Viking 2]]. These landers were significantly larger than the Soviet Mars landers (Viking 1 was 3,527 kilograms). They were able to take the first photographs from the surface of Mars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=viking-1 |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-1/ |website=jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Viking 1 - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking-1/ |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=science.nasa.gov |date=December 6, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Viking 1 operated on the surface of Mars for around six years (On November 11, 1982, the Lander stopped operating after getting a faulty command) and Viking 2 for over three years (mission ended in early 1980). Both landers were equipped with a robotic sampler arm which successfully scooped up soil samples and tested them with instruments such as a [[Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry|Gas chromatography–mass spectrometer]]. The landers measured temperatures ranging from negative 86 degrees Celsius before dawn to negative 33 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. Both landers had issues obtaining accurate results from their [[seismometer]]s.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Viking 1 - Mars Missions - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-1/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=viking-2 |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking-2/ |website=science.nasa.gov|date=December 6, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Viking 2 - Mars Missions - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-2/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) |language=en-US}}</ref>

Photographs from the landers and orbiters surpassed expectations in quality and quantity. The total exceeded 4,500 from the landers and 52,000 from the orbiters.

The Viking landers recorded atmospheric pressures ranging from below 7 millibars (0.0068 bars) to over 10 millibars (0.0108 bars) over the Martian year, leading to the conclusion that atmospheric pressure varies by 30 percent during the Martian year because carbon dioxide condenses and sublimes at the polar caps. Martian winds generally blow more slowly than expected, scientists had expected them to reach speeds of several hundred miles an hour from observing global dust storms, but neither lander recorded gusts over 120 kilometers (74 miles) an hour, and average velocities were considerably lower. Nevertheless, the orbiters observed more than a dozen small dust storms. The Viking landers detected [[nitrogen]] in the atmosphere for the first time, and that it was a significant component of the Martian atmosphere. There was speculation from the atmospheric analysis that the atmosphere of Mars used to be much denser.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Viking Mission to Mars |url=https://mars.nasa.gov/internal_resources/828/ |website=mars.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Winds of Mars: Aeolian Activity and Landforms |url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/winds/index.shtml |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=www.lpi.usra.edu}}</ref>

The Soviets did not match the Martian lander achievements of NASA, but did claim the title of the first lander.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Mark |date=2021-12-02 |title=50 years ago, a forgotten mission landed on Mars |url=https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/50-years-ago-a-forgotten-mission-landed-on-mars/ |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=Astronomy Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>