Mariner 2, 3, 4, 9
Mariner 2
(TFS)
- Mariner 2 (Mariner-Venus 1962), an American space probe to Venus, was the
first robotic space probe to conduct a successful planetary encounter.
The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program, it was a simplified version of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger program and an exact copy of Mariner 1.
The missions of Mariner 1 and 2 spacecraft are together sometimes known as the Mariner R missions. Original plans called for the probes to be launched on the Atlas-Centaur, but serious developmental problems with that vehicle forced a switch to the much smaller Agena B stage. As such, the design of the Mariner R vehicles was greatly simplified. Far less instrumentation was carried than on the Soviet Venera probes of this period, including no TV camera as the Atlas-Agena B had only half as much lift capacity as the Soviet 8K78 booster.
The Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962 and passed as close as 34,773 kilometers (21,607 mi) to Venus on December 14, 1962.
The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program, it was a simplified version of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger program and an exact copy of Mariner 1.
The missions of Mariner 1 and 2 spacecraft are together sometimes known as the Mariner R missions. Original plans called for the probes to be launched on the Atlas-Centaur, but serious developmental problems with that vehicle forced a switch to the much smaller Agena B stage. As such, the design of the Mariner R vehicles was greatly simplified. Far less instrumentation was carried than on the Soviet Venera probes of this period, including no TV camera as the Atlas-Agena B had only half as much lift capacity as the Soviet 8K78 booster.
The Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962 and passed as close as 34,773 kilometers (21,607 mi) to Venus on December 14, 1962.
Mariner 3,4
Mariner
3 (together with Mariner 4 known as Mariner-Mars 1964) was one of two identical
deep-space probes designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for
NASA's Mariner-Mars 1964 project that were intended to conduct close-up (flyby)
scientific observations of the planet Mars and transmit information on
interplanetary space and the space surrounding Mars, televised images of the
Martian surface and radio occultation data of spacecraft signals as affected by
the Martian atmosphere back to Earth.
It was the third of ten spacecraft within the Mariner program.
It was the third of ten spacecraft within the Mariner program.
Mariner 9
Mariner
9, the sister probe to Mariner 8 which failed on launch, became the first craft
to orbit Mars in 1971.
It returned information on the Red Planet that no other probe had done before, revealing huge volcanoes on the Martian surface, as well as giant canyon systems, and evidence that water once flowed across the planet. The probe also took the first detailed closeup images of Mars' two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
It returned information on the Red Planet that no other probe had done before, revealing huge volcanoes on the Martian surface, as well as giant canyon systems, and evidence that water once flowed across the planet. The probe also took the first detailed closeup images of Mars' two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Mariner 10
Mariner
10 was an American robotic space probe launched by NASA on November 3, 1973, to
fly by the planets Mercury and Venus.
Mariner
10 was launched approximately two years after Mariner 9 and was the last
spacecraft in the Mariner program. (Mariner 11 and 12 were allocated to the
Voyager program and redesignated Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.
The mission objectives were to measure
Mercury's environment, atmosphere, surface, and body characteristics and to
make similar investigations of Venus. Secondary objectives were to perform
experiments in the interplanetary medium and to obtain experience with a
dual-planet gravity assist mission. Mariner 10's science team was led by Bruce
C. Murray at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
SBB
source: http://nineplanets.org/spacecraft.html
