Mariner 4

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Mariner 4

The Mariner 4 spacecraft
Mission type	Mars flyby
Operator	NASA / JPL
COSPAR ID	1964-077A
SATCAT no.	942
Mission duration	3 years, 23 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch mass	260.8 kilograms (575 lb)
Power	310 watts (at Mars encounter)
Start of mission
Launch date	November 28, 1964, 14:22:01 (1964-11-28UTC14:22:01Z) UTC
Rocket	Atlas LV-3 Agena-D
Launch site	Cape Canaveral LC-12
End of mission
Last contact	December 21, 1967
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Heliocentric
Semi-major axis	199,591,220 kilometers (124,020,230 mi)
Eccentricity	0.17024754
Perihelion	165,611,300 kilometers (102,906,100 mi)
Aphelion	233,571,130 kilometers (145,134,370 mi)
Inclination	2.51 degrees
Period	562.888 days
Flyby of Mars
Closest approach	July 15, 1965, 01:00:57 UTC
Distance	9,846 kilometers (6,118 miles)
Instruments
Cosmic dust detector Cosmic ray telescope Geiger counter/ionization chamber Helium magnetometer Solar plasma probe Trapped radiation detector TV camera

Mariner 4 was a NASA spacecraft. It was the fourth spacecraft in the Mariner program. It was sent on a Mars flyby mission. It was the first successful mission to Mars. The spacecraft was launched on November 28, 1964 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Mariner 4 reached Mars after an eight-month journey. The spacecraft became the first spacecraft to take close-up photographs of another planet. The spacecraft also had other instruments to study the atmosphere of Mars.

The total cost of the Mariner 4 mission is estimated at $83.2 million. Total research, development, launch, and support costs for the Mariner series of spacecraft (Mariners 1 through 10) was approximately $554 million.

• Photographs that Mariner 4 took

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