\<COLOUR 1> MISSION: \<COLOUR 0> Mars orbiter/lander
\<COLOUR 1> INTO ORBIT: \<COLOUR 0> August 7, 1976
\<COLOUR 1> LANDED: \<COLOUR 0> September 3, 1976
\<COLOUR 1> COUNTRY: \<COLOUR 0> USA
\<COLOUR 1> COMMENTS: \<COLOUR 0> Second of two identical spacecraft sent to explore Mars from orbit and from the surface; its landing site on Utopia plain is nearly 6,500 km from that of Viking 1, but surface appears similar; lander ends transmission in April 1980.