Landers are the only artifacts of human origin that have touched the surface of Mars. Some have been highly successful, some have spectacularly failed, with the rest falling somewhere in-between. The following are Landers that have made it to the surface of Mars.
Viking 1 was the first American spacecraft to successfully land on Mars. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. The Lander landed on Mars on the Chryse Planitia (Golden Plain) on July 20th of 1976. Its mission ended on November 13th of 1982. Its mission was to perform science experiments (on the native soil), take photos of the area, and gather data on Mars.
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Viking 2 was the second (of a set of two) spacecraft to successfully land on Mars. It, like Viking 1, consisted of an orbiter and a lander. The Lander landed on Mars on the Utopia Planitia (Nowhere Land Plain) on September 3rd of 1976. Its mission ended on April 11th of 1980. Its mission, similar to Viking 1, was to perform science experiments (on the native soil), take photos of the area, and gather data on Mars.
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