THE MARINER PROGRAM
Mariner 4 flew by Mars in July 1965 This was followed by Mariner 6 and 7 in 1969.The images sent back showed what appeared to be a geologically dead world. There was an abundance of craters much like the moon. It was also from these spacecraft that we learned that Mars' polar caps were made of Carbon Dioxide ice instead of water ice.
In 1971, Mariner 9 flew by Mars and mapped the entire planet down to 1 km. These images brought a wealth of information and it soon become clear that Mars was indeed a complex planet. It was not, in fact, like the moon and merely composed of a crater strewn rocky surface. Mariner 9 revealed plains, canyons, drainage channels and even volcanos. Mariner 9 evoked such enthusiasm that plans were begun for Mars landers.
VIKING TO MARS
In 1976, Viking 1 and 2 landed on the Martian surface. Viking orbiters mapped the planet down to 100 meters and refined landing site locations for the landers. The landers used a heat shield to leave orbit, then parachuted to the surface, using retro-rockets to further slow descent.
Viking 1 landed on an ancient lava flow Viking 2 landed 6 weeks later about 5000 km away. The orbiters and landers returned over 55,000 images. Over the next four years, over 4 million weather reports from the Martian surface were transmitted to Earth.
The landers studied the …show more content…
Plus, both have elliptical orbits, rather than perfect circles. So the distance to Mars from Earth is constantly changing. In theory, the closest the planets could come together would be when Mars is at its closest point to the sun (perihelion) and Earth is at its farthest point (aphelion). In that situation, the planets would be 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers) from each other. But that has never happened in recorded history. The closest known approach was 34.8 million miles (56 million km) in
Mariner 4 flew by Mars in July 1965 This was followed by Mariner 6 and 7 in 1969.The images sent back showed what appeared to be a geologically dead world. There was an abundance of craters much like the moon. It was also from these spacecraft that we learned that Mars' polar caps were made of Carbon Dioxide ice instead of water ice.
In 1971, Mariner 9 flew by Mars and mapped the entire planet down to 1 km. These images brought a wealth of information and it soon become clear that Mars was indeed a complex planet. It was not, in fact, like the moon and merely composed of a crater strewn rocky surface. Mariner 9 revealed plains, canyons, drainage channels and even volcanos. Mariner 9 evoked such enthusiasm that plans were begun for Mars landers.
VIKING TO MARS
In 1976, Viking 1 and 2 landed on the Martian surface. Viking orbiters mapped the planet down to 100 meters and refined landing site locations for the landers. The landers used a heat shield to leave orbit, then parachuted to the surface, using retro-rockets to further slow descent.
Viking 1 landed on an ancient lava flow Viking 2 landed 6 weeks later about 5000 km away. The orbiters and landers returned over 55,000 images. Over the next four years, over 4 million weather reports from the Martian surface were transmitted to Earth.
The landers studied the …show more content…
Plus, both have elliptical orbits, rather than perfect circles. So the distance to Mars from Earth is constantly changing. In theory, the closest the planets could come together would be when Mars is at its closest point to the sun (perihelion) and Earth is at its farthest point (aphelion). In that situation, the planets would be 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers) from each other. But that has never happened in recorded history. The closest known approach was 34.8 million miles (56 million km) in