Viking and Mars Pathfinder

All three U.S. landers sent to Mars prior to the present Mars Polar Lander mission were great successes. The Viking 1 and 2 landers touched down in July and September 1976 (respectively), and Mars Pathfinder arrived in July 1997.

Neither of the two Vikings nor Mars Pathfinder carried a descent imaging system, although what ultimately became the Mars Decent Imager (MARDI) on Mars Polar Lander was originally proposed to NASA by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) for the "MESUR Pathfinder" mission that later evolved into Mars Pathfinder project when the MESUR Program was dicontinued in the early/mid 1990s.




©1999 Malin Space Science Systems, Inc.