Sample scoop and arm, Viking 1 Mission to Mars, 1976. The Viking 1 spacecraft, part of NASA's Viking programme, was the first spacecraft to land successfully on Mars and perform its mission. It took samples of the Martian planet surface, and sent images back to Earth. The sampling arm dug deep trenches as part of the surface composition and biology experiments. The digging tool on the sampling arm could scoop up samples of material and deposit them into the appropriate experiment. Some holes were dug deeper to study soil which was not affected by solar radiation and weathering.