Mariner 2
From Spacefaring
Q208984
Q208984
Mariner 2, an American space probe to Venus, was the first robotic space probe to report successfully from a planetary encounter. The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program, it was a simplified version of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger program and an exact copy of Mariner 1. The missions of the Mariner 1 and 2 spacecraft are sometimes known as the Mariner R missions. Original plans called for the probes to be launched on the Atlas-Centaur, but serious developmental problems with that vehicle forced a switch to the much smaller Agena B second stage. As such, the design of the Mariner R vehicles was greatly simplified. Far less instrumentation was carried than on the Soviet Venera probes of this period—for example, forgoing a TV camera—as the Atlas-Agena B had only half as much lift capacity as the Soviet 8K78 booster. The Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962, and passed as close as 34,773 km (21,607 mi) to Venus on December 14, 1962.
1962
Wikimedia, Wikidata
Mariner II; Mariner-Venus 1962
Atlas-Agena B,
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Location: KML, Cluster Map, Maps,
- Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin, Issue 131 - issue published in 2012, English, online
- Mariner 2 to Venus in 1962: Dawn of a New Age - magazine article from 'Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin' published in 2012, English, online
| Type | Subtype | Date | Description | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| commons | image | Model of Mariner 2 spacecraft (GRC-1964-C-70182) | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Artist depiction of Mariner 2 | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Photo Goldstone Observatory- a coded message from the space probe Mariner II 1963 - Touring Club Italiano 07 0240 | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Mariner 2 illustration | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Artist depiction of Mariner 2 | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Mariner 2 inspection 2 | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Mariner 2 inspection | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Mariner 2 in Hangar AE | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Block diagram of central computer and sequencer | Commons | ||
| commons | image | Telemetry-data flow chart | Commons | ||








