The first successful landing of a spacecraft on the surface of Mars occurred on August 20, 1976. This spacecraft was the American unmanned planetary probe 'Viking 1'. The mission was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida and became the first mission sent from Earth to another planet that successfully landed on its surface.
On June 19, 1976, the spacecraft entered Mars orbit. Over the next month, it used this time to take pictures of the Martian surface to determine the exact landing site for the lander. On July 20, on the seventh anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, the 'Viking 1' lander separated from the orbital spacecraft and landed in the Crater Plains region of Mars.
It became the first spacecraft to successfully land on the surface of Mars. On the same day, 'Viking 1' took the first photograph of the surface of this red planet. It was also 'Viking 1' that sent the first close-ups of the Martian surface, which appeared reddish.
In September 1976, just three weeks after the launch of 'Viking 1', 'Viking 2' was launched. It entered Mars orbit, where it assisted 'Viking 1' in taking surface pictures and sent its own lander. During the dual mission, both orbital spacecraft photographed the entire surface of Mars with a resolution of 150 to 300 meters, and both landers returned over 1400 photographs from the planet's surface.