Ice on Martian surface. Viking Lander 2 image of the Martian surface showing a thin layer of water ice (white) on the soil (orange) and rocks. The Viking lander is seen in the foreground. This image was taken at Utopia Planitia, Viking 2's landing site, on 25 September 1977. The Viking 2 mission consisted of a lander and an orbiter and was launched on 9 September 1975. The orbiter was inserted into Mars orbit on 7 August 1976. The lander separated from the orbiter and landed on Mars on 3 September 1976. When the orbiter stopped working in July 1978 it had returned almost 16,000 images. The lander continued to work until April 1980, when its batteries failed.