Mariner 4

Mariner 4
Mission typeMars flyby
OperatorNASA / JPL
COSPAR ID1964-077A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.942
Mission duration3 years, 23 days
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerJet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch mass260.8 kilograms (575 lb)[1]
Power310 watts
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 28, 1964, 14:22:01 (1964-11-28UTC14:22:01Z) UTC
RocketAtlas LV-3 Agena-D
Launch siteCape Canaveral LC-12
End of mission
Last contactDecember 21, 1967
Orbital parameters
Reference systemHeliocentric
Semi-major axis199,591,220 kilometers (124,020,230 mi)
Eccentricity0.17322[2]
Perihelion altitude166,052,670 kilometers (103,180,350 mi)[2]
Aphelion altitude234,867,290 kilometers (145,939,770 mi)[2]
Inclination2.544 degrees[2]
Period567.11 days[2]
EpochJuly 14, 1965, 21:00:57 UTC[2]
Flyby of Mars
Closest approachJuly 15, 1965, 01:00:57 UTC
Distance9,846 kilometers (6,118 miles)
Flyby of D/1895 Q1 (Swift) (Incidental)
Closest approachSeptember 15, 1967
Distance20,000,000 km (12,000,000 mi)
Instruments
Cosmic dust detector
Cosmic ray telescope
Geiger counter/ionization chamber
Helium magnetometer
Solar plasma probe
Trapped radiation detector
TV camera

Mariner 4 (together with Mariner 3 known as Mariner-Mars 1964) was the fourth in a series of spacecraft intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode. It was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and to transmit these observations to Earth. Launched on November 28, 1964,[2] Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first close-up pictures of the Martian surface. It captured the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space; their depiction of a cratered, dead planet largely changed the scientific community's view of life on Mars.[3][4] Other mission objectives were to perform field and particle measurements in interplanetary space in the vicinity of Mars and to provide experience in and knowledge of the engineering capabilities for interplanetary flights of long duration. Initially expected to remain in space for eight months, Mariner 4's mission lasted about three years in solar orbit.[5] On December 21, 1967, communications with Mariner 4 were terminated.

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