CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Mariner 9 was launched successfully on May 30, 1971, and became the first artificial satellite of Mars when it arrived and went into orbit. NASA’s Viking Project found a place in history when it became the first mission to land a spacecraft safely on the surface of another planet.

Detailed explanation-2: -There have been nine successful US Mars landings: Viking 1 and Viking 2 (both 1976), Pathfinder (1997), Spirit and Opportunity (both 2004), Phoenix (2008), Curiosity (2012), InSight (2018) and Perseverance (2021). The only other country to land a spacecraft on Mars was the Soviet Union in 1971 and 1973.