• Key Information

  • Mariner Missions

  • Time
    1962 to 1973
  • Mariner 2
    First flyby of Venus with data returned, August 27, 1962
  • Mariner 4
    First flyby of Mars, November 28, 1964
  • Mariner 5
    Flyby of Venus, June 14, 1967
  • Mariner 6
    Flyby of Venus, February 25, 1969
  • Mariner 7
    Flyby of Venus, March 27, 1969
  • Mariner 9
    First orbiter of Mars, May 30, 1971
  • Mariner 10
    First flyby of Mercury, and first spacecraft to visit two planets, November 3, 1973
  • Learning Point
  • The Mariner missions moved space exploration forward at a time when the USA was making its moon landings. The missions visited three different planets, and helped establish and test methods to move between planets, and how to successfully enter into orbit around them.
  • Project
  • Find out how many Mariner missions there were, and how many successes and failures they had.
  • Location
  • Located in
    Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • Fun Facts
  • Of the ten Mariner missions, three failed during launch, but the remaining seven accomplished their missions.
  • Mariner 1, Mariner 3 and Mariner 8 were the three missions that failed.
  • Mariner 6 and 7 had a dual mission to Mars, passing by the planet in 1970.
  • Mariner 10 successfully flew past Venus and then Mercury, becoming the first spacecraft to fly past two planets.
  • Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to successfully to enter orbit around another planet (Mars) and likely has or will shortly (2022) crash into the planet.