As part of the wider Mariner program, in 1969 Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 ( Mariner Mars 69A / 69B) completed the first dual mission to Mars, flying over the equator and south polar regions and analysing atmosphere and surface with remote sensors as well as recording and relaying hundreds of pictures. The mission's goals were to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys to establish the basis for future investigations, particularly those relevant to the search for extraterrestrial life, and to demonstrate and develop technologies required for future Mars missions and other long-duration missions far from the Sun. Mariner 6 also had the objective of providing experience and data which would be useful in programming the Mariner 7 encounter 5 days later. Image File history File links Mariner_67. ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nations public space program. ... Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a high-precision atomic time standard. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps or manifolds, traditionally bound into book form, but also found in multimedia formats. ... Model of Centaur with Surveyor as payload. ... NASA logo The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) is a department in NASAs Solar System Exploration Division. ... Image File history File links Mariner_67. ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nations public space program. ... Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a high-precision atomic time standard. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps or manifolds, traditionally bound into book form, but also found in multimedia formats. ... Model of Centaur with Surveyor as payload. ... NASA logo The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) is a department in NASAs Solar System Exploration Division. ... Launch of Mariner 1 (NASA) The Mariner program was a program conducted by the American space agency NASA that launched a series of robotic interplanetary probes designed to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and Príncipe. ...

Mariner 6 was launched from Launch Complex 36B at Cape Kennedy and Mariner 7 from Launch Complex 36A at Cape Kennedy.

On July 29, 1969, less than a week before closest approach, JPL lost contact with Mariner 7. They regained the signal via the backup low-gain antenna and were able to start using the high gain antenna again shortly after Mariner 6's close encounter. It was later determined a battery onboard Mariner 7 had exploded. Based on the observations made by Mariner 6, Mariner 7 was reprogrammed in flight to take further observations of areas of interest and actually returned more pictures than Mariner 6, despite the explosion.

By chance, both flew over cratered regions and missed both the giant northern volcanoes and the equatorial grand canyon discovered later. Their approach pictures did, however, photograph about 20% of the planet's surface, showing the dark features long seen from Earth, but none of the canals mistakenly observed by ground-based astronomers. In total 198 photos were taken and transmitted back to earth, adding more detail than the earlier mission, Mariner 4. Both craft also studied the atmosphere of Mars. Clouds hover over the volcano peaks of the Tharsis region in this color mosaic image. ... Valles Marineris cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars Valles Marineris (Latin for Mariner Valley, named after the Mariner 9 Mars orbiter of 1971-72 which discovered it. ... Map of Mars by Giovanni Schiaparelli. ... Mariner 4 (Mariner-Mars 1964) was the fourth in a series of spacecraft used for planetary exploration in a flyby mode and performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface. ... Atmosphere is the general name for a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass. ...

The twin Mariner craft made their closest fly-by of Mars at a distance of 2130 miles (3,430 kilometers) on August 5, 1969. is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

The ultraviolet spectrometer onboard Mariners 6 and 7 was constructed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. “UV” redirects here. ... A spectrometer is an optical instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. ... The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is a research organization at the University of Colorado at Boulder. ...

The engineering model of Mariners 6 and 7 still exists, and is owned by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It is currently on loan to the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and is on display in the lab's lobby. For the singer/songwriter, see Jon Peter Lewis. ... The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is a research organization at the University of Colorado at Boulder. ...

The craft are now defunct in heliocentric orbits. A heliocentric orbit is an orbit around the sun. ...

Spacecraft and subsystems

The Mariner 6 and 7 spacecraft were identical, consisting of an octagonal magnesium frame base, 138.4 cm diagonally and 45.7 cm deep. A conical superstructure mounted on top of the frame held the high-gain 1 meter diameter parabolic antenna and four solar panels, each measuring 215 x 90 cm, were affixed to the top corners of the frame. The tip-to-tip span of the deployed solar panels was 5.79 m. A low-gain omnidirectional antenna was mounted on a 2.23 m high mast next to the high-gain antenna. Underneath the octagonal frame was a two-axis scan platform which held scientific instruments. Overall science instrument mass was 57.6 kg. The total height of the spacecraft was 3.35 m.

The spacecraft was attitude stabilized in three axes (referenced to the sun and the star, Canopus) through the use of 3 gyros, 2 sets of 6 nitrogen jets mounted on the ends of the solar panels, a Canopus tracker, and two primary and four secondary sun sensors. Propulsion was provided by a 223 N rocket motor mounted within the frame which used monopropellant hydrazine. The nozzle with 4-jet vane vector control protruded from one wall of the octagonal structure. Power was supplied by 17,472 photovoltaic cells covering an area of 7.7 square meters on the four solar panels. These could provide 800 W of power near Earth and 449 W at Mars. The maximum power requirement was 380 W at Mars encounter. A 1200 W·h rechargeable silver-zinc battery was used to provide backup power. Thermal control was achieved through the use of adjustable louvers on the sides of the main compartment.

Three telemetry channels were available for telecommunications. Channel A carried engineering data at 8⅓ or 33⅓ bit/s, channel B carried scientific data at 66⅔ or 270 bit/s and channel C carried science data at 16,200 bit/s. Communications were accomplished via the high- and low-gain antennas via dual S-band travelling wave tube 10/20 W amplifiers for transmission and a single receiver. An analog tape recorder with a capacity of 195 million bits could store television images for subsequent transmission. Other science data was stored on a digital recorder. The command system, consisting of a central computer and sequencer (CC&S), was designed to actuate specific events at precise times. The CC&S was programmed with a standard mission and a conservative backup mission before launch, but could be commanded and reprogrammed in flight. It could perform 53 direct commands, 5 control commands, and 4 quantitative commands.

Instrumentation:

1. IR Spectrometer
2. Two-Channel IR Radiometer Mars Surface Temperature
3. UV Spectrometer
4. S-Band Occultation
5. Thermal Control Flux Monitor (Conical Radiometer)
6. Mars TV Camera
7. Celestial Mechanics
8. General Relativity

See also

• Exploration of Mars
• Space exploration
• Unmanned space missions

Computer generated image of one of the two Mars Exploration Rovers which touched down on Mars in 2004. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space, both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft. ... It has been suggested that Space probe be merged into this article or section. ...

External links

• Mariner 6 Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• Mariner 7 Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• Mariner 6 and 7 Data Set Information (highly technical)
• Mariner 6 and 7 Data Viewer Page (includes many images)
• Page with reprocessed Mariner 7 images

v • d • e  Mariner Program
Previous mission: Mariner 5	Next mission: Mariner 8
Mariner 1 | Mariner 2 | Mariner 3 | Mariner 4 | Mariner 5 | Mariner 6 and 7 | Mariner 8 | Mariner 9 | Mariner 10

v • d • e Mars Spacecraft Missions
Flybys	Mariner 4 - Mariner 6 - Mariner 7 - Mars 4 - Rosetta
Orbiters	Mariner 9 - Mars 2 - Mars 3 - Mars 5 - Mars 6 - Viking 1 - Viking 2 - Phobos 2 - Mars Global Surveyor Mars Odyssey - Mars Express Orbiter - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Landers and Rovers	Mars 3 - Viking 1 - Viking 2 - Mars Pathfinder - Spirit rover - Opportunity rover
Future	2007: Dawn - Phoenix Scout 2009: Mars Science Laboratory - Phobos-Grunt & Yinghuo-1 2011: Mars Scout 2011 2013: Mars Science and Telecommunications Orbiter - ExoMars 2016: Astrobiology Field Laboratory Launch of Mariner 1 (NASA) The Mariner program was a program conducted by the American space agency NASA that launched a series of robotic interplanetary probes designed to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1515x1218, 322 KB) Original Caption Released with Image: Mariner 2 was the worlds first successful interplanetary spacecraft. ... Mariner 5 was a spacecraft of the Mariner program that carried a complement of experiments to probe Venus atmosphere with radio waves, scan its brightness in ultraviolet light, and sample the solar particles and magnetic field fluctuations above the planet. ... Mariner 8. ... Launch of Mariner 1 Mariner 1 was the first spacecraft of the Mariner program. ... -1... Mariner 3 and 4 were identical spacecraft of the Mariner program designed to carry out the first flybys of Mars. ... Mariner 4 (Mariner-Mars 1964) was the fourth in a series of spacecraft used for planetary exploration in a flyby mode and performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface. ... Mariner 5 was a spacecraft of the Mariner program that carried a complement of experiments to probe Venus atmosphere with radio waves, scan its brightness in ultraviolet light, and sample the solar particles and magnetic field fluctuations above the planet. ... Mariner 8. ... Mariner 9 launch Mariner 9 was a NASA space probe orbiter that helped in the exploration of Mars and was part of the Mariner program. ... The Mariner 10 probe. ... Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... Computer generated image of one of the two Mars Exploration Rovers which touched down on Mars in 2004. ... Mariner 4 (Mariner-Mars 1964) was the fourth in a series of spacecraft used for planetary exploration in a flyby mode and performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface. ... As part of the wider Mariner program, in 1969 Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 completed the first dual mission to Mars, flying by over the equator and south polar regions and analysing atmosphere and surface with remote sensors as well as recording and relaying hundreds of pictures. ... The Mars program was a series of Mars unmanned landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. ... Rosetta is a European Space Agency-led unmanned space mission launched in 2004 intended to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Mariner 9 launch Mariner 9 was a NASA space probe orbiter that helped in the exploration of Mars and was part of the Mariner program. ... The Mars program was a series of Mars unmanned landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Mars 2. ... The Mars program was a series of Mars unmanned landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. ... The Mars program was a series of Mars unmanned landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. ... The Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of NASAs Viking program. ... Frost on Mars. ... The Phobos program was an unmanned space mission consisting of two probes launched by the Soviet Union to study Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. ... The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was a US spacecraft developed by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. ... Artists concept of the 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft 2001 Mars Odyssey is an unmanned spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. ... Oblique view of the Reull Vallis near the Hellas basin, rendered from data obtained by the Mars Express orbiters High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) The Mars Express Orbiter is part of the Mars Express program, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to Mars. ... NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and exploration of Mars from orbit. ... A Mars Rover is an unmanned land vehicle for exploration of the planet Mars. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Mars 2. ... The Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of NASAs Viking program. ... Frost on Mars. ... The Mars Pathfinder was launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II just a month after the Mars Global Surveyor was launched. ... The mission patch for Spirit, featuring Marvin the Martian. ... The launch patch for Opportunity, featuring Duck Dodgers (Daffy Duck). ... The Dawn Mission is a NASA mission that will send the Dawn spacecraft, a robotic space probe, to the asteroid belt. ... Phoenix is a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission to Mars under the Mars Scout Program. ... 2007 Mars Science Laboratory concept Schematic diagram of the planned rover components The Mars Science Laboratory (or MSL for short) is a NASA rover scheduled to launch in September 2009 and perform a precision landing on Mars in July-September 2010. ... Phobos-Grunt (rus. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Mars Science and Telecommunication Orbiter or MSTO is a proposal for what would be primarily an infrastructure component for future missions, but also perform some yet to be determined science activities of its own. ... ExoMars model at ILA 2006 (Berlin) ExoMars. ... The Astrobiology Field Laboratory is a proposed NASA unmanned planetary spacecraft to explore the planet Mars. ... 2024?: Mars Sample Return Mission
See also	Mars - Exploration of Mars - Colonization of Mars