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| Characteristics of the mission: | |
| Name | Mariner 2 |
| Nation | United States |
| Objective(s) | Fly by Venus and return data on the planet's atmosphere, magnetic field, charged particle environment, and mass. |
| Craft | Mariner-Venus 1962 |
| Craft – Weight | 202.8 kg |
| Administration and planning of mission | JPL - NASA |
| Launch vehicle | Atlas-Agena B |
| Date and time of launch | 27 August 1962 at 06:53:14 UTC |
| Launched from | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 12 |
| Scientific instruments/ Technology experiments | |
Mariner 2, a space probe to Venus, was the first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program. The Mariner 1 and 2 spacecraft were simplified versions of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger program.
The Mariner probe consisted of a 100 cm diameter hexagonal bus, to which solar panels, instrument booms, and antennae were attached. The scientific instruments onboard the Mariner spacecraft were two radiometers (microwave and infrared) mounted on a tilting platform, a micrometeorite sensor, a solar plasma sensor, a charged particle sensor, and a magnetometer. These instruments were designed to measure the temperature distribution on the surface of Venus, as well as making basic measurements of Venus' atmopshere. Due to the planet's thick, featureless cloud cover, no cameras were included in the Mariner units. (Mariner 10, a distant cousin of Mariner 2, later discovered that extensive cloud detail was visible in ultra-violet light.)
The Atlas-Agena rocket carrying Mariner 1 veered off-course during its launch on July 22, 1962, and the spacecraft was destroyed. A month later, the identical Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched successfully on August 27, 1962, sending it on a 3½-month flight to Venus. On the way it measured for the first time the solar wind, a constant stream of charged particles flowing outwards from the Sun. It also measured interplanetary dust, which turned out to be more scarce than predicted. In addition, Mariner 2 detected high-energy charged particles coming from the Sun, including several brief solar flares, as well as cosmic rays from outside the Solar system. As it flew by Venus on December 14, 1962, Mariner 2 scanned the planet with its pair of radiometers, revealing that Venus has cool clouds and an extremely hot surface.
The spacecraft is now defunct in a heliocentric orbit.
Detailed Description
The Mariner II spacecraft was the second of a series of spacecraft used for planetary exploration in the flyby mode and the first spacecraft to successfully encounter another planet. Mariner 2 was a backup for the Mariner 1 mission which failed shortly after launch to Venus. The objective of the Mariner 2 mission was to fly by Venus and return data on the planet's atmosphere, magnetic field, charged particle environment, and mass. It also made measurements of the interplanetary medium during its cruise to Venus and after the flyby.
Spacecraft and Subsystems
Mariner 2 consisted of a hexagonal base, 1.04 meters across and 0.36 meters thick, which contained six magnesium chassis housing the electronics for the science experiments, communications, data encoding, computing, timing, and attitude control, and the power control, battery, and battery charger, as well as the attitude control gas bottles and the rocket engine. On top of the base was a tall pyramid-shaped mast on which the science experiments were mounted which brought the total height of the spacecraft to 3.66 meters. Attached to either side of the base were rectangular solar panel wings with a total span of 5.05 meters and width of 0.76 meters. Attached by an arm to one side of the base and extending below the spacecraft was a large directional dish antenna.The Mariner 2 power system consisted of the two solar cell wings, one 183 cm by 76 cm and the other 152 cm by 76 cm (with a 31 cm dacron extension (a solar sail) to balance the solar pressure on the panels) which powered the craft directly or recharged a 1000 Watt-hour sealed silver-zinc cell battery, which was used before the panels were deployed, when the panels were not illuminated by the Sun, and when loads were heavy. A power-switching and booster regulator device controlled the power flow. Communications consisted of a 3 Watt transmitter capable of continuous telemetry operation, the large high gain directional dish antenna, a cylindrical omnidirectional antenna at the top of the instrument mast, and two command antennas, one on the end of either solar panel, which received instructions for midcourse maneuvers and other functions.
Propulsion for midcourse maneuvers was supplied by a monopropellant (anhydrous hydrazine) 225 N retro-rocket. The hydrazine was ignited using nitrogen tetroxide and aluminum oxide pellets, and thrust direction was controlled by four jet vanes situated below the thrust chamber. Attitude control with a 1 degree pointing error was maintained by a system of nitrogen gas jets. The Sun and Earth were used as references for attitude stabilization. Overall timing and control was performed by a digital Central Computer and Sequencer. Thermal control was achieved through the use of passive reflecting and absorbing surfaces, thermal shields, and movable louvers.
The scientific experiments were mounted on the instrument mast and base. A magnetometer was attached to the top of the mast below the omnidirectional antenna. Particle detectors were mounted halfway up the mast, along with the cosmic ray detector. A cosmic dust detector and solar plasma spectrometer detector were attached to the top edges of the spacecraft base. A microwave radiometer and an infrared radiometer and the radiometer reference horns were rigidly mounted to a 48 cm diameter parabolic radiometer antenna mounted near the bottom of the mast. All instruments were operated throughout the cruise and encounter modes except the radiometers, which were only used in the immediate vicinity of Venus.
Mission Profile
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 some 980 seconds later followed by Agena-Mariner separation 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. The midcourse maneuver was initiated at 22:49:00 UT on 4 September and completed at 2:45:25 UT 5 September. On 8 September at 17:50 UT the spacecraft suddenly lost its attitude control, which was restored by the gyroscopes 3 minutes later. The cause was unknown but may have been a collision with a small object. On October 31 the output from one solar panel deteriorated abruptly, and the science cruise instruments were turned off. A week later the panel resumed normal function and instruments were turned back on. The panel permanently failed on 15 November, but Mariner 2 was close enough to the Sun that one panel could supply adequate power. On December 14 the radiometers were turned on. 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 UT 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 UT. Mariner 2 remains in heliocentric orbit.Scientific Results
Scientific discoveries made by Mariner 2 included the detection of microwave limb darkening, which supported the theory that the Venusian surface was extremely hot, and it found no detectable magnetic field. It was also shown that in interplanetary space the solar wind streams continuously and the cosmic dust density is much lower than the near-Earth region. Improved estimates of Venus' mass and the value of the astronomical unit were made.Total research, development, launch, and support costs for the Mariner series of spacecraft (Mariners 1 through 10) was approximately $554 million.
External links
- NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory Guide to Mariner 2
- Mariner-Venus 1962 Final project report - NASA (PDF)
- Mariner 1 and 2. tracking information memorandum - Jun 1962 (PDF)
- Full-scale engineering prototype of Mariner 2 in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
Mariner program | Venus spacecraft
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"Mariner 2"