Mariner Program - Mariners 3 and 4

Mariners 3 and 4

Mariner 3 and Mariner 4 were Mars flyby missions.

Mariner 3 was lost when the launch vehicle's nose fairing failed to jettison. Its sister ship, Mariner 4, launched on November 28, 1964, was the first successful flyby of the planet Mars and gave the first glimpse of Mars at close range.

• Mission: Mars flyby
• Mass: 261 kg (575 lb)
• Sensors: camera with digital tape recorder (about 20 pictures), cosmic dust, solar plasma, trapped radiation, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, radio occultation and celestial mechanics

Status:

• Mariner 3 – Malfunctioned. Derelict in heliocentric orbit.
• Mariner 4 – Communications lost after bombardment by micrometeoroids. Derelict in heliocentric orbit.