Viking at 50: Rediscovering the People and Ideas that Formed Astrobiology

This article presents a historical preface to the Astrobiology special collection by introducing the actors, timeline, and intellectual framework involved in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Viking mission. The authors pull information from scholarly articles, historical records, and the personal notes of Viking scientists uncovered this year and currently en route to the National Archives. Revisiting the legacy of Viking here provides a brief look into the science that continues to inform the practice of astrobiology and the creative spirit that inspires its scientists. All figures presented in this article have not previously been publicly available and will be made so later this year in the Exobiology Branch Collection at NASA’s Ames Research Center Archives (collection ARC11.17). The authors encourage space history and astrobiology researchers to consult the soon-to-be accessioned Viking-era records housed in the Ames archives for new insights into America’s first landing on Mars.