277: The first color photograph taken on the surface of Mars, the Red Planet. 21 Jul 1976.
Vintage Chromogenic print on resin coated Kodak paper, printed 1976.
20.3 x 25.4 cm (7.9 x 10 in), with NASA JPL caption numbered “Viking 1-54” affixed to the verso and “This paper manufactured by Kodak” watermarks on the verso.

"For all those useful benefits to mankind that our future space program holds in store for us, we should never lose sight of the importance of man’s innate curiosity, his desire to understand better, to dig deeper, to rise higher, to explore. Yes, and his desire to dream. For our civilization is the sum of all dreams that have come true through the labors of our forebears. Let us therefore continue to dream; let us continue to make our dreams come true. For without dreams, without the will to make these dreams come true, the future of mankind would be bleak indeed."
Wernher von Braun (Thomas, p.179).

Launched on August 20, 1975, Viking 1 became the first unmanned spacecraft to land successfully on Mars eleven months later on July 20, 1976 and took its first color photograph one day later, showing the famed rocky reddish surface.

[NASA caption]
This color picture of Mars was taken July 21, the day following Viking 1’s successful landing on the planet. The local Time on Mars is approximately noon. The view is southeast from the Viking.
Orange-red surface materials cover most of the surface, apparently forming a thin veneer over darker bedrock exposed in patches, as in the lower right. The reddish surface materials may be limonite (hydrated ferric oxide). Such weathering products form on Earth in presence of water and an oxidizing temperature atmosphere.
The sky has a reddish cast, probably due to scattering and reflection from reddish sediment suspended in the lower atmosphere . The scene was scanned three times by the spacecraft’s camera 2, through a different color filter each time. To assist in balancing the colors, a second picture was taken of a test chart mounted on the rear of the spacecraft. Color data for the patches were adjusted until the patches were an appropriate color of gray. The same calibration was then used for the entire scene. Another version of this photo (Viking 1-46) with a sky that appeared more pink, gray and blue was shown last week. This interpretation has been modified with further processing.

In good condition. With a diagonal creasemark in the upper left corner.