1962: Mariner 2 (NASA)

Mariner 2, a space probe to Venus, was the first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner programme. It was a simplified version of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger programme and an exact copy of Mariner 1. The missions of Mariner 1 and 2 spacecraft are together sometimes known as the Mariner R missions.

The primary mission was to receive communications from the spacecraft in the vicinity of Venus and to perform a radiometric temperature measurement of the planet. A second objective was to measure the Interplanetary Magnetic Field and charged particle environment.

The two-stage Atlas-Agena rocket carrying Mariner 1 veered off-course during its launch on 22 July 1962 due to a defective signal from the Atlas and a bug in the program equations of the ground-based guiding computer, and subsequently the spacecraft was destroyed by the Range Safety Officer. A month later, the identical Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched successfully on 27 August 1962, sending it on a 3½-month flight to Venus. On the way it measured the solar wind, a constant stream of charged particles flowing outwards from the Sun, confirming the measurements by Luna 1 in 1959. It also measured interplanetary dust, which turned out to be more scarce than predicted. In addition, Mariner 2 detected high-energy charged particles coming from the Sun, including several brief solar flares, as well as cosmic rays from outside the Solar System. As it flew by Venus on 14 December 1962, Mariner 2 scanned the planet with its pair of radiometers, revealing that Venus has cool clouds and an extremely hot surface.

The spacecraft is now defunct in a heliocentric orbit.

Credit: NASA

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• iaf
• 1962
• mariner
• venus

[dalek14mc]

@mach888888-Mariner 2 wasn't meant to land on venus, that is why no one claimed it did.

[mach888888]

Get a clue. Mariner 2 never landed on venus nor was their a claim it did.

[sangstar1]

The whole story of mariner 2 landing in venus is a fraud