Editing Viking lander biological experiments (section)

{{Short description|Mars life detection experiments}}
[[File:Viking Biological package.I.png|350px|thumb|Schematic of the Viking Lander Biological Experiment System]]
In 1976 two identical [[Viking program]] landers each carried four types of [[biological]] [[experiment]]s to the surface of [[Mars]]. The first successful Mars landers, ''[[Viking 1]]'' and ''[[Viking 2]]'', then carried out experiments to look for [[biosignature]]s of microbial [[life on Mars (planet)|life on Mars]]. The landers each used a robotic arm to pick up and place soil samples into sealed test containers on the craft.

The two landers carried out the same tests at two places on Mars' surface, ''Viking 1'' near the equator and ''Viking 2'' further north.<ref name="Chambers">{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Chambers |name-list-style=vanc |title=Life on Mars; The Complete Story |place=London |publisher=Blandford |date=1999 |isbn=978-0-7137-2747-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeonmarscomple00cham }}</ref>