The Viking 2 mission was an exact copy of the Viking 1 mission, consisting of a orbiter and lander. The purpose of the second launch to Mars of a landing vehicle was to increase the possibilities of landing on Mars. At the same time, this second part of the Viking project was to search for biological traces in the Utopia Planitia, whereas the Viking 1 was to carry out the same search on the Chryse Planitia.
This vehicle was launched from Kennedy Space Center on June 9, 1975 and attained a Martian orbit on August 7, 1975. The mission lasted until 1982.
The results obtained by the Viking 2 confirmed those of the Viking 1 in that no plate tectonics were found and the biological analisys provided no definite conclusions on the presence or not of life on Mars. At the same time, the orbiter of this spacecraft photographed the entire Martian surface.