Mariner 2

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.

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1962  Wikimedia, Wikidata
artificial satellite of the Sun, flyby probe, Atlas-Agena B, 

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Location: KML, Cluster Map, Maps,

1962-08-27T00:00:00Z

1962-08-27T00:00:00Z

1962 Mariner 2

1963-01-03T00:00:00Z

1963-01-03T00:00:00Z

loss of signal

1962-12-14T00:00:00Z

1962-12-14T00:00:00Z

planetary flyby

1962-08-27T00:00:00Z

1962-08-27T00:00:00Z

rocket launch

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Frameless

Model of Mariner 2 spacecraft (GRC-1964-C-70182)

Artist depiction of Mariner 2

Photo Goldstone Observatory- a coded message from the space probe Mariner II 1963 - Touring Club Italiano 07 0240

Mariner 2 illustration

Artist depiction of Mariner 2

Mariner 2 inspection 2

Mariner 2 inspection

Mariner 2 in Hangar AE

Block diagram of central computer and sequencer

Telemetry-data flow chart

• 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