19659001 data-pin-nopin=fetchpriority=data-component-name=19459011> A composite image revealing 2 various pictures of Mars taken by NASA’s Viking 1 lander in July, 1976. 19659003 (Image credit: NASA/JPL ) 19659004 19659006 About 40 minutes after it arrived on Mars on July 20, 1976, NASA’s Viking 1 lander sent this very first picture from the surface area of the Red Planet. (Image credit: NASA/JPL) Quick truths 19659009 What it is: 19459077 The surface area of Mars 19659010 Where it is: 19459077 189 million miles (305 million kilometers) from Earth 19659011 When it was shared: 19459077 July 20, 2026. 19659012 19659013 Most current Videos From Live Science 19659016 Register for the Live Science day-to-day newsletter now 19659017 Get the world’s most remarkable discoveries provided directly to your inbox. 19659018 19459060 19659019 Jamie Carter is a Cardiff, U.K.-based freelance science reporter and a routine factor to Live Science. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and co-author of The Eclipse Effect, and leads global stargazing and eclipse-chasing trips. His work appears frequently in Space.com, Forbes, New Scientist, BBC Sky during the night, Sky & Telescope, and other significant science and astronomy publications. He is likewise the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.