Viking - A Mission to Mars (1976)

Produced by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), this 1976 government film explains NASA’s Mission to Mars and the Viking 1 Orbiter and Lander. The short film begins with an animated sequence illustrating the Viking Lander’s journey to the red planet and its search for signs of life. Dr. Richard Roberts, Assistant Administrator of the ERDA, then explains how nuclear energy generators allow the Viking to gather and transmit data and photographs to Earth. The film concludes on a patriotic note, acknowledging the new horizons the United States reached in its bicentennial year.