July 20th is a pretty significant date in space exploration history. Apollo 11 touched down on the moon on this date.
The Viking 1 Orbiter was inserted into Mars orbit on June 19, 1976. Landing on Mars was planned for July 4, 1976, the United States Bicentennial, but imaging of the primary landing site showed it was too rough for a safe landing. The landing was delayed until a safer site was found. The lander separated from the orbiter on July 20 08:51 UT and landed at 11:53:06 UT.
Viking 1 might have been delayed intentionally to land on Mars on July 20th for sentimental reasons but...
Even the engineers at NASA couldn't reschedule the following July 20th event. From July 16 through July 22, 1994, pieces of an object designated as Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter. This is the first collision of two solar system bodies ever to be observed, and the effects of the comet impacts on Jupiter's atmosphere have been simply spectacular and beyond expectations. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 consisted of at least 21 discernable fragments with diameters estimated at up to 2 kilometers. There was an actual collision on July 20th! Mind boggling.
Ever since I was a kid, I've had a huge fascination with the moon & space in general and have felt a great connection to it all in some way. Very interesting.
Back with some more great art soon. Thanks for supporting conceptships!
Keywords: july 20 significant historical date for space exploration igor tkac birthday 40 forty years old appolo 11 mars lander viking 1 and 2 comet shoemaker levy hits jupiter
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