Mariner 3

Mariner 3

Operator	JPL - NASA
Mission type	Fly-by
Flyby of	Mars
Launch date	5 November 1964 at 19:22:05 UTC
Launch vehicle	Atlas-Agena D
Mass	260.8 kg

Mariner 3 was one of two identical deep-space probes designed and built by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for NASA's Mariner Mars 1964 Project that were intended to conduct close-up (flyby) scientific observations of the planet Mars and transmit information on interplanetary space and the space surrounding Mars, televised images of the Martian surface and occultation data of spacecraft radio signals as affected by the Martian atmosphere back to Earth. It was the third of ten spacecraft within the Mariner program. Mariner 3 was launched on November 5, 1964 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 13, but the shroud encasing the spacecraft atop its rocket failed to open properly, and Mariner 3 did not get to Mars. Unable to collect the Sun's energy for power from its solar panels, the probe soon died when its batteries ran out and is now in solar orbit. Three weeks later, on November 28, 1964, Mariner 4 was launched successfully on a 7½-month voyage to the red planet.

Instruments:

1. Television Camera
2. Magnetometer
3. Plasma Probe
4. Cosmic Ray Telescope
5. Trapped Radiation Detector
6. Cosmic Ray Ionization chamber
7. Cosmic dust detector

See also

• Exploration of Mars
• Space exploration
• Robotic spacecrafts

External links

• Mariner 3 Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• Space Flight Operations Plan Mariner Mars '64 (PDF)