APOLLO MISSION CONTROL PHOTO PLUS

Mariner 1 & 2

Mariner spacecraft were built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for early exploration of the nearby planets. The Mariner series became the first spacecraft to return significant data on the surface and atmosphere conditions of Venus, Mars, and Mercury.

Mariner 1 lifted off from Launch Complex 12 onboard a Atlas Agena B booster on 22 July 1962. It was destroyed by the Range Safety Officer just after lift off.

Mariner 2 was the first spacecraft to successfully flyby another planet. After launch and termination of the Agena first burn, the Agena-Mariner was in a 118 km altitude Earth parking orbit. The Agena second burn injected the Mariner 2 spacecraft into a geocentric escape hyperbola at 26 minutes 3 seconds after lift-off. Solar panel extension was completed about 44 minutes after launch. On 29 August 1962 cruise science experiments were turned on. A midcourse manoeuvre was initiated at 22:49:00 GMT on 4 September and completed at 2:45:25 GMT 5 September.

Mariner 2 approached Venus from 30 degrees above the dark side of the planet, and passed below the planet at its closest distance of 34,773 km at 19:59:28 GMT 14 December 1962. After encounter, cruise mode resumed. Spacecraft perihelion occurred on 27 December at a distance of 105,464,560 km. The last transmission from Mariner 2 was received on 3 January 1963 at 07:00 GMT.

Mariner 3 / 4 Mars Flyby (1964 - 1965)

Featuring man's first close-up photograph of another planet.

The Mariner 4 spacecraft completed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars and returned the first pictures of the Martian surface on 15 July 1965.

It was designed to conduct close-up scientific observations of Mars and to transmit these observations to earth. Other mission objectives were to perform field and particle measurements in interplanetary space in the vicinity of Mars and to provide experience in and knowledge of the engineering capabilities for interplanetary flights of long duration.

The spacecraft was 3-axis stabilized using cold gas thrusters. Four deployed solar panels were kept oriented toward the Sun. S-Band communications used either the low gain or high gain antennas. Power was supplied by 28,224 solar cells contained in the four 176 x 90 cm solar panels, which provided 310 W at Mars. A rechargeable 1200 W-hr silver-zinc battery was also used for manoeuvres and backup. Monopropellant hydrazine was used for propulsion, via a 4-jet vane vector control 222-N motor installed on one of the sides of the octagonal structure. Attitude control was provided by 12 cold nitrogen gas jets mounted on the ends of the solar panels and three gyros. Telecommunications equipment consisted of a dual, S-band 7-W triode cavity amp/10-W TWTA transmitter and a single receiver which could send and receive data via the low- and high-gain antennas at 8 1/3 or 33 1/3 bps. Data could also be stored on a tape recorder with a capacity of 5.24 million bits for later transmission.

Most of the science experiments were mounted on the outside of the frame. Science instruments, in addition to the TV camera, were a magnetometer, dust detector, cosmic ray telescope, trapped radiation detector, solar plasma probe, and ionization chamber/Geiger counter. The tape recorder stored 21 pictures.

An attempt to launch Mariner C (3) took place on 5 November 1964 from the Cape's Launch Complex 12 via a Atlas LV-3A Agena D booster but it failed due to a launch fairing failure.

Mariner D, renamed to Mariner 4 after achieving orbit, was successfully launched from Launch Complex 12 by a Atlas LV-3A Agena D on 28 November 1964.

Mariner 4 provided the first up close pictures of Mars and after a 228 day cruise, the spacecraft flew by Mars on July 14 and 15, 1965. Planetary science mode was turned on at 15:41:49 GMT on 14 July. The camera sequence started at 00:18:36 GMT on July 15 and 21 pictures plus 21 lines of a 22nd picture were taken.

The images covered a discontinuous swath of Mars starting near 40 N, 170 E, down to about 35 S, 200 E, and then across to the terminator at 50 S, 255 E, representing about 1% of the planet's surface. The closest approach was 9,846 km from the Martian surface at 01:00:57 GMT 15 July 1965. The images taken during the flyby were stored in the onboard tape recorder. At 02:19:11 GMT Mariner 4 passed behind Mars as seen from Earth and the radio signal ceased. The signal was reacquired at 03:13:04 GMT when the spacecraft reappeared. Cruise mode was then re-established. Transmission of the taped images to Earth began about 8.5 hours after signal reacquisition and continued until 3 August. All images were transmitted twice to insure no data was missing or corrupt.

You will find the 22 pictures stored by Mariner 4 listed below.

The spacecraft performed all programmed activities successfully and returned useful data from launch until 22:05:07 GMT on 1 October 1965, when the distance from Earth (309.2 million km) and the antenna orientation temporarily halted signal acquisition. In 1967 Mariner 4 returned to the vicinity of Earth again and engineers decided to use the ageing craft for a series of operational and telemetry tests to improve their knowledge of the technologies that would be needed for future interplanetary spacecraft. On 21 December 1967 communications with Mariner 4 were terminated.

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Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. S-65-28611

17 July 1965

A wonderful photograph of Mars from digital data radioed by the Mariner 4 Spacecraft. This is a standard representation of Mars with longitudes and latitudes shown, including the North and South Poles. The sweeping curved line in this view extends to nearly 48 degrees north latitude and represents the edge of Mars. The Mariner 4 photographed Mars beginning at 5:18:33 p.m. PDT on July 14, 1965, just prior to the closest approach of about 6,000 miles from the planet at 6:01 p.m.

This very fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition. VG+

£8.95

Man's First Close Up Of Another Planet

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1183

14 July 1965

This is man's first close-up photographs of another planet - a photographic representation of digital data radioed from Mars by NASA's Mariner IV spacecraft. This is the first photograph taken by Mariner IV. Viewed with the darkness of space at the top of the picture, the direction you are looking is toward the North Pole which is out of view beyond the horizon. The general area in view is slightly above the equator and shows the region around a bright area of the planet known as the Elysium. The length of the limb shown in this photograph is approximately 200 miles.

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in near mint condition.

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Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #1

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1226

14 July 1965

The Mariner 4 photographed Mars beginning at 5:18:33 p.m. PDT on July 14, 1965, just prior to the closest approach of about 6,000 miles from the planet at 6:01 p.m.

Picture #1 Time Taken: 5:18:33 PDT

Slant Range: 10,500 miles Area: 400 miles

Map Description: Bright region on the limb between Trivium Charontis and Propontus II Phlegra.

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #2

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1227

14 July 1965

The Mariner 4 photographed Mars beginning at 5:18:33 p.m. PDT on July 14, 1965, just prior to the closest approach of about 6,000 miles from the planet at 6:01 p.m.

Picture #2 Time Taken: 5:19:21 PDT

Slant Range: 10,100 miles

Area: E/W: 290 miles - N/S: 530 miles

Map Description: Bright region northeast of Trivium Charontis.

Overlap: Picture #1

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #3

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1228

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #3 Time Taken: 5:20:57 PDT

Slant Range: 9,500 miles

Area: E/W: 290 miles - N/S: 310 miles

Map Description: Bright region northeast of Trivium Charontis.

Overlap: Picture #4

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #4

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1229

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #4 Time Taken: 5:21:45 PDT

Slant Range: 9,300 miles

Area: E/W: 210 miles - N/S: 270 miles

Map Description: Bright region is Mesogaea.

Overlap: Picture #3

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£5.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #5

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1230

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #5 Time Taken: 5:23:21 PDT

Slant Range: 8,900 miles

Area: E/W: 190 miles - N/S: 220 miles

Map Description: Bright region in eastern Zephyria.

Overlap: Picture #6

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #6

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1231

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #6 Time Taken: 5:24:09 PDT

Slant Range: 8,700 miles

Area: E/W: 190 miles - N/S: 200 miles

Map Description: Bright region in eastern Zephyria.

Overlap: Picture #5

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£5.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #7

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1232

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #7 Time Taken: 5:25:45 PDT

Slant Range: 8,400 miles

Area: E/W: 180 miles - N/S: 180 miles

Map Description: Bright region in southwestern Zephyria, near Mare Sirennum.

Overlap: Picture #8

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

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Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #8

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1233

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #8 Time Taken: 5:26:23 PDT

Slant Range: 8,300 miles

Area: E/W: 180 miles - N/S: 170 miles

Map Description: Border between Zephyria and Mare Sirenum.

Overlap: Picture #7

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£5.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #9

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1234

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #9 Time Taken: 5:28:09 PDT

Slant Range: 8,100 miles

Area: E/W: 170 miles - N/S: 160 miles

Map Description: Mare Sirenum, bordering on Atlantis in the Southwest corner of the frame.

Overlap: Picture #10

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£5.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #10

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1235

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #10 Time Taken: 5:28:57 PDT

Slant Range: 8,000 miles

Area: E/W: 170 miles - N/S: 160 miles

Map Description: Atlantis, bordering on Mare Sirenum in the norhtheast corner of the frame.

Overlap: Picture #9

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£6.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #11

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1236

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #11 Time Taken: 5:30:33 PDT

Slant Range: 7,800 miles

Area: E/W: 170 miles - N/S: 150 miles

Map Description: Atlantis, between Mare Sirenum and Mare Cimmerium

Overlap: Picture #12

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #12

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1237

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #12 Time Taken: 5:31:21 PDT

Slant Range: 7,700 miles

Area: E/W: 170 miles - N/S: 150 miles

Map Description: Mare Cimmerium bordering on Atlantis.

Overlap: Picture #11

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #13

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1238

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #13 Time Taken: 5:32:57 PDT

Slant Range: 7,600 miles

Area: E/W: 170 miles - N/S: 140 miles

Map Description: border between Mare Cimmerium to the bright region Phaethontis.

Overlap: Picture #14

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£5.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #14

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1239

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #14 Time Taken: 5:33:46 PDT

Slant Range: 7,600 miles

Area: E/W: 170 miles - N/S: 140 miles

Map Description: Bright Region, northwestern Phaethontis.

Overlap: Picture #13

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #15

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1240

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #15 Time Taken: 5:33:46 PDT

Slant Range: 7,500 miles

Area: E/W: 180 miles - N/S: 140 miles

Map Description: Bright Region in Phaethontis.

Overlap: Picture #16

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #16

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1241

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #16 Time Taken: 5:36:09 PDT

Slant Range: 7,500 miles

Area: E/W: 190 miles - N/S: 140 miles

Map Description: Bright Region in Phaethontis, near Aonius Sinus.

Overlap: Picture #15

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #17

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1242

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #17 Time Taken: 5:37:45 PDT

Slant Range: 7,400 miles

Area: 200 miles x 140 miles

Map Description: Dark region in Aonius Sinus.

Overlap: Picture #18

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #18

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1243

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #18 Time Taken: 5:38:33 PDT

Slant Range: 7,400 miles

Area: 210 miles x 140 miles

Map Description: Dark region is Aonius Sinus.

Overlap: Picture #17

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£4.95

Mariner IV Photograph Of Mars #19

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 65-H-1244

Date Taken: 14 July 1965

Picture #19 Time Taken: 5:38:33 PDT

Slant Range: 7,500 miles

Area: 240 miles x 150 miles

Map Description: Dark region in Aonius Sinus.

Overlap: Picture #20

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

Mariner 5 - 1967 Mission to Venus Flyby

Mariner 5 was a refurbished backup spacecraft for the Mariner 4 Mars mission converted to fly a Venus mission. Mariner 5 carried a complement of experiments to probe Venus's atmosphere with radio waves, scan its brightness in ultraviolet light, and sample the solar particles and magnetic field fluctuations above the planet.

The spacecraft was fully attitude stabilized, using the sun and Canopus as references. A central computer and sequencer subsystem supplied timing sequences and computing services for other spacecraft subsystems. The octagonal bus structure had four solar panels and was 3-axis stabilized using cold gas thrusters. S-Band communications were via either the low gain or high gain antenna and a thermal shield protected the spacecraft from solar radiation. The spacecraft instruments measured both interplanetary and Venusian magnetic fields, charged particles, and plasmas, as well as the radio refractivity and UV emissions of the Venusian atmosphere.

Mariner E, after reaching orbit it was renamed Mariner 5, was successfully launched from Launch Complex 12 at the Cape onboard a SLV-3 Atlas/Agena D configured booster on 14 June 1967.

Mariner 5 flew by Venus on October 19, 1967 at an altitude of 3,990 kilometres. With more sensitive instruments than its predecessor Mariner 2, Mariner 5 was able to shed new light on the hot, cloud-covered planet and on conditions in interplanetary space. Operations of Mariner 5 ended in November 1967. The spacecraft instruments measured both interplanetary and Venusian magnetic fields, charged particles, and plasmas, as well as the radio refractivity and UV emissions of the Venusian atmosphere. The Mariner 5 mission was considered a complete success.

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Mariner E Final Check Out

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 67-H-749

4 June 1967

Spacecraft engineers at JPL, Pasadena, California, check the Mariner E Spacecraft before shipment to the Cape for launching. The 542 pound Mariner Spacecraft will be launched from Complex 12 at the Cape by an Atlas-Agena D launch vehicle later this month on a 4 month long mission to Venus. After acheiving orbit before it trajectory to Venus, it will be named Mariner 5. Primary objective of the Mariner 5 Venus 1967 mission is to obtain scientific information on the origin and nature of Venus and its environment. Flight time to Venus will vary from 114 days to 130 days depending upon the day of launch.

This very fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in near mint condition.

Mariner 6 & 7 - 1966 Mars Flyby Mission

Mariner 6 and 7 comprised a dual-spacecraft mission to Mars. The primary objectives of the missions were to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys to establish the basis for future investigations, particularly those relevant to the search for extraterrestrial life, and to demonstrate and develop technologies required for future Mars missions and other long-duration missions far from the Sun.

The planetary experiments included two television cameras, an infrared radiometer, an infrared spectrometer, and an ultraviolet spectrometer. These sensors took TV pictures of Mars and measured the ratio of refractivity and UV and IR emissions of the atmosphere.

The two identical spacecraft were oriented entirely to planetary data acquisition, and no data were obtained during the trip to Mars or beyond Mars. Mariners 6 and 7 were designed to fly over the equator and southern hemisphere of Mars.

Mariner 6 encountered Mars on July 31,1969 and was quickly followed by Mariner 7 on August 4, 1969. The two spacecraft returned a combined total of 143 approach pictures of the planet and 55 close-up pictures. These images, from the vehicles' television cameras, included pictures of the northern and southern polar caps as well as Phobos, one of Mars' two moons. The spacecraft also studied the Martian atmosphere and profiled its chemical composition.

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Mariner 6 Far Encounter Picture #35

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 69-H-1287

30 July 1969

This outstanding photo of Mars was recorded by the Mariner 6 spacecraft at 1:36 a.m. PDT on 30 July 1969 from a distance of 333,700 statute miles and was received by the 210-foot antenna at JPL's Goldstone station in California at 6:05 p.m. PDT the same day.

Slightly above centre is one of the largest clearly defined craters in the far encounter series taken by Mariner 6. Made visible by a white rim and cerntral spot, this crater measures some 300 miles in diameter and is larger than any crater found on the Moon. The crater has been identified surprisingly as Nix Olympica, long familiar to astronomers as a feature which becomes progressively brighter through the Martian day.

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£8.95

Mariner 7 Far Encounter Picture #6

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 69-H-1388

2 August 1969

Mariner 7 took this picture No. 6 on 2 August 1969 from a distance of more than one million miles from the Red Planet.

This Mariner 7 far encounter of Mars shows a remarkable webbed network of light lines in the Thaisis and Areadia regions (upper left portions of the planet). That structure is identical to that first resolved by Mariner 6. It has not been seen from Earth even though the resolution in this picture is thought to be only slightly better than the best obtainable from the Earth.

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£8.95

Mariner 7 Far Encounter Picture #57

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 69-H-1390

3 August 1969

This fine photo of Mars was recorded by the Mariner 7 spacecraft at 12:11 p.m. PDT on 3 August 1969 from a distance of 535,650 statute miles and was received by the 210-foot antenna at JPL's Goldstone station in California at 9:17 p.m. PDT the same day.

The bright ring at upper right is located in the area known as Elyslum, and appears to be a crater at least 200 miles in diameter. The sharply defined dark linear feature nearby (to the right) is the Cerberus canal. The dark area which has recently emerged from the sunrise limb at left is Syrtis Major.

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£8.95

Mariner 7 Far Encounter Picture #47

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 69-H-1391

3 August 1969

This photo of Mars was recorded by the Mariner 7 spacecraft at 6:11 a.m. PDT on 3 August 1969 from a distance of 630,700 statute miles and was received at JPL's Goldstone station in California at 8:25 p.m. PDT the same day.

This outstanding Mariner 7 far encounter photograph shows a wealth of detailed bright structure around the huge crater Nix Olympia, which was fist identified as a crater in the Mariner 6 pictures. The region is observed to change its brightness but not its structure from day to day. The reason for this change remains a mystery.

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£8.95

Mariner 7 Far Encounter Picture #38

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 69-H-1389

3 August 1969

This photo of Mars was recorded by the Mariner 7 spacecraft at 12:47 a.m. PDT on 3 August 1969 from a distance of 716,250 statute miles and was received at JPL's Goldstone station in California at 7:39 p.m. PDT the same day.

This photograph of the Tharis Candor-Thaumasia regions shows the dark feature Solia Lacus half way from the centre to the bottom limb. Known as the 'eye of Mars' it has been identified in some of the earliest drawings of the planet. Slightly above and to the right of Solis Dacun is a horizontal dark streak approximately 100 miles wide and 750 miles long. This is the canal Agathadaemon, a feature which has been photographed by ground based telescopes, but with considerably less resolution. The small dark spot just above Agathadaemon, is the 'oasis' Juventae Fons, one of the more permanent of the Martian 'oases'.

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

£7.95

Mariner 7 Near Encounter Picture #13

10 x 8 B/W Glossy NASA Photograph

NASA No. 69-H-1405

7 August 1969

Mariner 7 near encounter picture 13 shows the edge of Mars' south polar cap at Latitude 59 deg. South. The deposit is believed to be either a layer of frozen carbon dioxide ice a few feet deep or a layer of water ice less than an inch deep. Craters on the edge show covered southward-facing slopes and exposed northward-facing slope. This picture has been enhanced by computer processing as the JPL by Dr. R B Leighton an his team.

This fine vintage glossy NASA photograph is in very good condition.

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