Mariner 4 Launches Toward Mars
Mariner 4 launched on November 28, 1964, beginning a mission that would return the first close-up photographs of Mars.
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The Event
Mariner 4 launched on November 28, 1964, beginning a mission that would return the first close-up photographs of Mars.
The Wider Story
The flight followed the unsuccessful Mariner 3 launch earlier that month. Engineers had addressed the protective-shroud problem before sending the second spacecraft.
Putting the Event in Perspective
The Mars flyby and photographs came in July 1965.
Reading the Historical Record
A launch-day recreation should use an Atlas-Agena and should not show images appearing instantly as the rocket leaves Earth.
About the Historical Recreation
The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: an Atlas-Agena launch in 1964 dissolving to an illustrative Mariner 4 spacecraft in deep space. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.
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