Which space mission was the first to land on Mars in 1976?

Viking 1

Viking 1 marked a significant milestone in space exploration by becoming the first mission to successfully make a soft landing on Mars, on July 20, 1976. This ambitious NASA project aimed to gather data on the structure and composition of the Martian atmosphere, as well as images of the surface. The images and analysis provided by Viking 1 greatly enriched our understanding of the Red Planet, revealing a world both fascinating and inhospitable, and laid the groundwork for future Martian exploration missions.