Russia was the first to reach the Red Planet. They sent two probes, Mars 2 and 3, in 1971, to land on the planet. Mars 2 crashed on the Martian surface (thus becoming the first human-made artifact to reach the surface of another planet), and Mars 3 landed likely in the midst of a sandstorm, transmitted a very staticy picture for twenty seconds, and then died. The U.S. meanwhile was preparing the Viking probes.

On this day, July 20, the Viking one, a complex orbiter-lander compound successfully landed on Mars. Unlike the Soviet probes, this one was designed to last a while. The orbiters first flew around the planet to scout out suitable landing sites, before separating out the landing craft. The Viking 1 continued transmitting data from the surface for 6 ½ years, far above its expected life span.

The way both countries handled the task exploration became a paradigm in itself by the second full decade of the space race. The Russians would scramble to be the first to reach some milestone, making haphazard attempts that failed more often than not (and when they did succeed, creating little of scientific value); while the U.S. would methodically plan and carry out their missions, forgoing the glory of first reach for practicality in being able to replicate their successes.