"Somewhere across space giant instruments, handled by strange manipulative organs, may stare vainly at our floating cloud wrack, their owners yearning as we yearn." - Loren Eiseley, The Immense Journey. Amid the excitement and celebration of July 4, 197, a historic and intriguing event will take place on the planet Mars. After a half-billion-mile journey, the intricate spacecraft, Viking, will descend to the Martian surface and begin an unprecedented probe: an extraterrestrial search for life. If all goes according to plan, U.S. television viewers should see close-up and panoramic still photographs of the Martian surface within hours after the Viking touches down.
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