In a field of volcanic rocks and red dunes on the planet Mars, an emissary from Earth sits quietly. Powdery dust may coat its white surface, possibly hiding the American flag and Bicentennial logo from view. Extreme cold might have cracked some of its lenses and other components. But if humans ever colonize Mars, they’ll certainly visit this relic – the first craft to successfully land on the Red Planet.

The Viking 1 lander touched down 50 years ago today. It was one of four craft in the Viking project – two landers and two orbiters. Viking 1 wasn’t the first probe to touch down on Mars. The Soviet Union’s Mars 3 had landed in 1971. But it died less than two minutes later, so it didn’t return any information about Mars.

The Viking 1 and 2 landers snapped thousands of pictures. They monitored the weather and measured the composition of the soil and atmosphere.

The landers also looked for signs of life. Their cameras saw no moving objects on the surface, and no growing plants. Chemical laboratories found no organic molecules in the soil. They did find chemical reactions like those produced by microorganisms on Earth. But scientists at the time decided the reactions were produced by the soil, not life; more about that tomorrow.

The Viking 1 lander operated for three Mars years – more than six Earth years. Scientists continue to study its findings to learn more about the intriguing Red Planet.

Script by Damond Benningfield