Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

14:22:00

Saturday November 28, 1964

Watch Replay

Official Livestream

Mission Details

Launch Notes

First spacecraft to reach the vicinity of Mars.

Mariner 4

Wiki

Mariner 4 (together with Mariner 3 known as Mariner–Mars 1964) was the fourth in a series of spacecraft intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode. It was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and to transmit these observations to Earth. Launched on November 28, 1964, Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first close-up pictures of the Martian surface. It captured the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space; their depiction of a cratered, seemingly dead world, largely changed the scientific community's view of life on Mars.

Heliocentric Orbit

1 Payload

261 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Atlas-LV3 Agena-D

Active 1963 to 1965


Stages

2

Launch Site

LC-12

Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA

Fastest Turnaround

32 days 4 hours

Stats

Atlas-Agena


47th

Mission

15th

Mission of 1964

1964


89th

Orbital launch attempt