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COMETS EARTH JUPITER KUIPER BELT MARS MERCURY METEORITES NEPTUNE OORT CLOUD PLUTO SATURN SOLAR SYSTEM SPACE SUN URANUS VENUS ORDER PRINTS
PHOTO CATEGORIES SCIENCEVIEWS AMERICAN INDIAN AMPHIBIANS BIRDS BUGS FINE ART FOSSILS THE ISLANDS HISTORICAL PHOTOS MAMMALS OTHER PARKS PLANTS RELIGIOUS REPTILES SCIENCEVIEWS PRINTS
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The 1971 Mariner Mars mission was planned to consist of two spacecraft on complementary missions, but due to the failure of Mariner 8 to launch properly, only one spacecraft was available. Mariner 9 combined mission objectives of both Mariner 8 (mapping 70% of the Martian surface) and Mariner 9 (a study of temporal changes in the Martian atmosphere and on the Martian surface). Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. Launched on May 30, 1971, the 506-kilogram (1,116-pound) spacecraft circled Mars twice each day for a full year, photographing the surface and analyzing the atmosphere with infrared and ultraviolet instruments. The spacecraft gathered data on the atmospheric composition, density, pressure, and temperature and also the surface composition, temperature, and topography of Mars. |
