On 1 July 1976, Viking 1, just arrived at Mars, played a crucial part in the opening of the brand new Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
“With perfect timing, Viking had reached Mars and sent a signal which operated a replica of the lander’s mechanical arm to cut the ribbon,” says Margaret Weitekamp, lead space curator for the revamped Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall at the museum.
This was pretty smart tech 40 years ago – but despite this, says Weitekamp, “I’m told that there were a couple of museum staff behind the curtain with scissors in case of emergencies”.
Since then, more people have passed through the doors than those of any other museum, apart from the Louvre. Now, at the age of 40, its galleries are newly revamped and, fittingly, the Viking lander takes a key plinth in the front lobby – with the new flight hall also containing the likes of Apollo 11 and the Spirit of St Louis.
OK, so the lander is not the one that sent the signal: obviously the originals never returned from Mars. But it is real, one of only three Viking landers, and the only one still on this planet.
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