The Viking 2 lander operated on the surface for 1,316 days, or 1281 sols, and was turned off on April 12, 1980, when its batteries eventually failed.

[6] The lander separated from the orbiter on September 3, 1976, at 22:37:50 UT and landed at Utopia Planitia.

[7] The normal procedure called for the structure connecting the orbiter and lander (the bioshield) to be ejected after separation.

However, due to problems with the separation process, the bioshield remained attached to the orbiter.

The orbiter developed a leak in its propulsion system that vented its attitude control gas.

The Viking 2 lander was powered by radioisotope generators and operated on the surface until its batteries failed on April 12, 1980.

[6][10] The regolith, referred to often as "soil," resembled those produced from the weathering of basaltic lavas.

The tested soil contained abundant silicon and iron, along with significant amounts of magnesium, aluminum, sulfur, calcium, and titanium.

In addition, independent of the biology experiments, Viking 2 carried a Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) that could measure the composition and abundance of organic compounds in the Martian soil.

These include the discovery of near-surface ice near the Viking landing zone, the possibility of perchlorate destruction of organic matter, and the reanalysis of GCMS data by scientists in 2018.

The formal declaration at the time of the mission was that the discovery of organic chemicals was inconclusive.

[23] Perchlorate is now considered widespread on Mars, making it hard to detect any organic compounds on the Martian surface.

They showed that water floods carved deep valleys, eroded grooves into bedrock, and traveled thousands of kilometers.