re: First pictures
Yes, I was also eagerly waiting for the first Viking pictures from Mars. I remember who presented the news, then, and how it unfolded.
The previous seconds, we had no idea, and then, wham, the revelation, the rocks, the clear sky (I thought it was a defect).
Also felt that the first time I saw Voyager 1's galilean moons pictures.
The minute before, they were just points, and then they instantly became worlds of their own.
Raoul