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The Viking Lander 1 Landing Site - Thomas Mutch Memorial Station (ctx frame - Natural Colors; credits: Lunar Explorer Italia)
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Viking Lander 1 (VL1) touched down in Western Chryse Planitia on July 20, 1976.
The Lander, which has a diameter of about 3 meters, has been precisely located in the HiRISE orbital image, and likely locations have been found for the Heat-Shield, Backshell and Parachute attached to the Backshell.
The Lander location has been confirmed by overlaying the lander-derived topographic contours on the HiRISE image, which provides an excellent match. VL1 was one element of an ambitious mission to study Mars, with a 4-spacecraft flotilla consisting of 2 Orbiters and 2 Landers.
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