NSSDC Image Catalog from Mariner 4
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman - Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Aerospace Engineering Astronomy Design History of Science and Technology |
| Learning Resource Type: | Reference - Visuals |
| Media Type: | Image |
| Author(s): | NASA - Natinoal Aeronautics & Space Adminstration, Astrophysics, Dave Williams, Jay Friedlander |
| Description: | "Mariner 4, was launched and became the first successful mission to Mars. It flew past Mars on July 14 and 15, 1965 and was the first spacecraft to return close-up images of the surface. It was a moment in history that would forever change ideas about life on Mars. Fanciful theories about canals and vegetation were put to rest. In Mariner 4's 21 pictures, the Red Planet was seen to be barren and riddled with craters. An experiment to measure the composition of the martian atmosphere also dashed long-held hopes that Mars might be a twin of Earth. As the craft passed behind the planet, its radio signal was attenuated by the atmosphere. Scientists analyzed this "radio occultation" data and calculated that the atmosphere of Mars was very thin and surface pressure very low. They combined these results with previous Earth-based research and found that the martian atmosphere was composed mostly of carbon dioxide gas. Mariner 4 also carried instruments to study cosmic dust, solar plasma, radiation belts, and magnetic fields. It continued past Mars and returned data until October of 1965. Contact with the spacecraft resumed again when it approached Earth late in 1967." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | space exploration, space technology, mars, space images |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: | History of technology |
| Difficulty: | Medium |
| Interactivity Level: | Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | October 2007 |
| Platform/Format: | WWW |
| Cost: | Free |
| Download URL: | http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa... |
| Metadata: | IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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