Mariner 4In 1964, Mariner 4 was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Making its Mars fly-by on 14 Jul 1965, this was the first satellite to transmit a close-up photograph of Mars. Flying as close as 9,846 km (6,118 miles), Mariner 4 revealed Mars to have a cratered, rust-colored surface, with signs on some parts of the planet that liquid water had once etched its way into the soil. It had various field and particle sensors and detectors, and a television camera, which took 22 television pictures covering about 1% of the planet. Initially stored on a 4-track tape recorder, these pictures took four days to transmit to Earth, showing the geologic and atmospheric processes at work on the planet over the eons. It continued in solar orbit for about 3 years. |
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