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Mariner 9By Marty McDowell/NASA
On May 30, 1971, the United States launched Mariner 9. Mariner 9 was
the first artificial satellite of Mars (the first planetary orbiter).
Mariner 8 and 9 were the third and final pair of Mars missions in
NASA's Mariner series of the 1960s and early 1970s. Both were designed to
be the first Mars orbiters, marking a transition in our exploration of the
red planet from flying by the planet to spending time in orbit around it.
Unfortunately, Mariner 8 failed during launch on May 8, 1971. Mariner 9
was launched successfully on May 30, 1971, and became the first artificial
satellite of Mars when it arrived and went into orbit, where it functioned
in Martian orbit for nearly a year. Mariner 9 complete its final
transmission October 27, 1972.
Upon arrival, Mariner 9 observed that a great dust storm was obscuring
the whole globe of the planet. Ground controllers sent commands to the
spacecraft to wait until the storm had abated, the dust had settled, and
the surface was clearly visible before compiling its global mosaic of
high-quality images of the Martian surface. The storm persisted for a
month, but after the dust cleared, Mariner 9 proceeded to reveal a very
different planet than expected -- one that boasted gigantic volcanoes and
a grand canyon stretching 4,800 kilometers (3,000 miles) across its
surface. More surprisingly, the relics of ancient riverbeds were carved in
the landscape of this seemingly dry and dusty planet. Mariner 9 exceeded
all primary photographic requirements by photo-mapping 100 percent of the
planet's surface. The spacecraft also provided the first closeup pictures
of the two small, irregular Martian moons: Phobos and Deimos.
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Mariner 9 image of the
Martian satellite Phobos taken from 5760 km.
Mariner 9 provided the first good views of Phobos.
The moon is about 26 km across its longest
dimension. Craters as small as 300 m are visible
in this image..
Image courtesy of NASA. |
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Source: NASA.
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SPACE SPECS |
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| | Mariner 8/9 spacecraft | | | | Courtesy of NASA | |
|  | Launched: May 30, 1971
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| | Destination: Mars
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| | Arrival: November 14, 1971
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| | Return:
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| | Nation: U.S.
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| | Mission: Orbit Mars
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