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Mariner 3

Mariner 3

Mariner 3 was designed to fly by Mars and conduct other interplanetary experiments along the way.

Mission Statistics

Launch Date

Nov. 5, 1964

Type

Flyby Spacecraft

Target

Mars

Status

Past

About the mission

Mariner 3 was designed to fly by Mars and conduct other interplanetary experiments along the way. However, soon after its launch, the shroud encasing the spacecraft atop its rocket failed to open properly and the mission was unsuccessful.

Three weeks later, the Mariner 4 spacecraft launched successfully on an eight-month journey to the Red Planet and collected the first up-close photographs of another planet.

Instruments

  • Imaging system
  • Magnetometer
  • Plasma probe
  • Cosmic ray telescope
  • Trapped radiation detector
  • Cosmic ray ionization
  • Cosmic dust detector

More about Mars

News.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Reads Record of Ancient Mars Impacts

Image.

Perseverance’s Trip to ‘Broom Point’

Image.

Curiosity Finds Evidence of an Ancient Sandstorm

Image.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Provides Sweeping View of Broom Point

Image.

NASA’s HiRISE Captures Perseverance Marking a Milestone on Mars

News.

NASA Testing Advanced Capabilities for Moon, Mars Rovers

Video.

Know Before We Go: What Mars Exploration and IndyCar Racing Have in Common

News.

NASA’s Psyche Mission Aces Mars Flyby, Targets Metal-Rich Asteroid

Image.

NASA’s Psyche Mission Spies Mars’ Wind-Blown Craters During Close Approach

Image.

NASA’s Psyche Mission Images the Crescent of Mars

  • Fact Sheet
  • Mariner 3 Information on Solar System Exploration
  • Mariner 3 Information on National Space Science Data Center

Explore Other Missions

Opportunity Rover

Mariner 8 (Mariner H)

Mariner 4

Mariner 9 (Mariner I)

Mariner 7

Mariner 6

MarCO

Mars Climate Orbiter

Perseverance Rover

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