Mariner Probe

The Mariner program was an attempt to find out information about the inner planets, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Unmanned space probes were launched between 1962 and 1973. Ten probes were planned for the inner planets. Two probes (Mariner 11 and 12) were renamed Voyager 1 and 2. These last two probes went to the outer planets.

The missions’ goals were to check atmosphere, solar wind, magnetic field, surface temperature, diameter, and composition. Pictures of the planets were taken. Scientists used this information to map the planets and to answer questions about the inner planets.

Mariner.	Launch Objective	Date	...	Accomplishments
1	Venus	07/22/62		Launch Failure
2	Venus	08/26/62		Successful planet fly-by at 21,750 miles (35,003 km)
3	Mars	11/05/64		Contact lost shortly after launch
4	Mars	11/28/64		First successful trip to planet, took 22 photos
5	Venus	06/14/67		Successful fly-by with photos, measurements
6	Mars	02/24/69		Successful fly-by with photos, measurements
7	Mars	03/27/69		Successful fly-by with photos, measurements
8	Mars	05/08/71		Failed to enter orbit
9	Mars	05/30/71		Successful flight with photos
10	Mercury, Venus	11/03/73		Successful Venus, Mercuryfly-by with photos

The USSR also launched a series of probes to the inner planets. Venera 7 was the first probe to make a soft landing on Venus and continue sending data. Venera 8 did some surface analysis after its landing on Venus. Venera 11-16 also provided more information about the composition of the atmosphere, the soil content, and planet mapping. Mars was studied using probes named Mars 1 - 7, Zond 2, and Phobos 1 and 2.

The Mariner missions were impressive flights and helped us expand our knowledge of the inner planets.

	A successful planet fly-by (Mariner 2)
	A trip to Mars ( Mariner 4)
	A successful orbit of another planet (Mariner 9)
	A trip to two planets, Venus and Mercury (Mariner 10)