Key Dates:
- 08.27.62: Launch (06:53:14 UT)
- 12.14.62: Arrival at Venus
- 01.03.63: End of Mission
- Status: Mission Complete
Scientific Instruments:
- microwave radiometer
- infrared radiometer
- fluxgate magnetometer
- cosmic dust detector
- solar plasma spectrometer
- energetic particle detectors
Mariner 2 Information:
NASA wasted no time in implementing a backup plan and within 36 hours of the failure of Mariner 1 had the Mariner R-2 spacecraft out of storage and launched. Mariner 2, as it was known after launch, was equipped with an identical complement of instrumentation to that of its predecessor.
Unlike Mariner 1, Mariner 2 was a success. Mission controllers had to make a midcourse corection on September 4, as planned. Then, on December 14, 1962, the spacecraft flew by Venus at a range of 34,762 kilometers. During a 42-minute scan of the planet, Mariner 2 gathered significant data on the Venusian atmosphere and surface before continuing on to heliocentric orbit.
NASA continued to monitor Mariner 2 until 07:00 UT on 3 January 1963. At that time, it was 87.4 million kilometers from Earth, a new record for a deep space probe. Some of the data returned by the probe included the fact that the surface temperature on Venus was at least 425C with minimal differentiation between the day and night sides of the planet. It also discovered that there was a dense cloud layer that extended from 56 to 80 kilometers above the surface. The spacecraft detected no discernable planetary magnetic field; this lack is partly explained by the great distance of the flyby.
After this successful mission, NASA elected to stand down the third spacecraft in the series (Mariner R-3), scheduled for the 1964 launch window.