Spacecraft Images

Mariner 2, the world's first successful interplanetary spacecraft, was launched August 27, 1962 and passed 34,916 kilometers (21,648 miles) from Venus on December 14, 1962. Mariner 2 measured the temperatures of the clouds and surface of Venus as well as fields and particles near the planet and in interplaentary space. Contact was lost January 3, 1963 when the spacecraft was 86.9 million kilometers (53.9 million miles) from Earth. (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Mariner 4 (1964) (GIF, 103K)

Mariner 4 was launched November 28, 1964 on a 228-day mission to Mars. The spacecraft carried instruments for eight interplanetary and planetary experiments including a TV camera. Mariner 4 passed Mars at a distance of 9,868 kilometers (6,118 miles), recording and transmitting to Earth our first close-up picture of the red planet. In 21 and a fraction of a 22nd picture, Mariner's TV camera scanned about one percent of the Martian surface, revealing ancient craters of varying size. Planetary science data, including pictures, were trasmitted over distances ranging from 215 million to 240 kilometers (134 million to 150 million miles). (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Surveyor (1966 - 1968) (GIF, 158K)

A full-size engineering model of the Surveyor robotic lunar spacecraft is shown on the beach near Los Angeles, Calif. Seven Surveyors were launched toward the Moon between 1966 and 1968 to make soft landings as precursors to the Apollo astronaut missions. The successful missions and date of lunar landing were Surveyor 1 on June 2, 1966; Surveyor 3 on April 19, 1967; Surveyor 5 on September 10, 1967; Surveyor 6 on November 9, 1967; and Surveyor 7 on January 9, 1968. (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Mariner5 (1967) (GIF, 99K)

The Mariner 5 spacecraft was launched June 14, 1967 and flew by Venus on October 19 of that year at a distance of 4,000 kilometers (2,480 miles). (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Mariner 6 & 7 (1969) (GIF, 103K)

The 1969 Mars mission was conducted with Mariner 6 and 7, follow- on designs of earlier Mariners. Each spacecraft weighs 413 kilograms (910 pounds) and measures 3.35 meters (11 feet) from the scan platform to the top of the low-gain antenna. The width across the solar panels is 5.8 meters (19 feet). The eight-sided body of the spacecraft carries seven electronic compartments. A small rocket engine, used for trajectory corrections, protrudes through one of the sides. The planetary experiments aboard the spacecraft were two television cameras, an infrared radiometer, an infrared spectrometer and an ultraviolet spectrometer. The spacecraft were launched in February and March 1969, and flew past Mars in July and August 1969. (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Viking (1975) (GIF, 101K)

Viking was designed to orbit Mars and to land and operate on the planet's surface. Two identical spacecraft, each consisting of a lander and an orbiter, were built. NASA launched both spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida -- Viking 1 on August 20, 1975, and Viking 2 on September 9, 1975. The landers were sterilized before launch to prevent contamination of Mars with organisms from Earth. The spacecraft spent nearly a year cruising to Mars. Viking 1 reached Mars orbit June 19, 1976; Viking 2 began orbiting Mars August 7, 1976.

After studying orbiter photos, the Viking site certification team considered the original landing site for Viking 1 unsafe. The team examined nearby sites, and Viking 1 landed on Mars July 20, 1976, on the western slope of Chryse Planitia (the Plains of Gold) at 22.3 degrees N latitude, 48.0 degrees longitude. (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Voyager (1977) (GIF, 60K)

Twin Voyager spacecraft, depicted here in a full-scale model, are now traveling out of the solar system. Voyager 1, launched Sept. 5, 1977, completed its mission to Jupiter and Saturn and is now outbound from the solar system, heading in the general direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. Voyager 2 followed its sister craft to Jupiter and Saturn, then encountered Uranus and Neptune. In this view, the science boom, containing cameras and other instruments requiring maneuverability, is seen at right. The long boom at left carries two magnetic-field detectors and stretches 43 feet out from the spacecraft. The dominant feature at center, the 12-foot-diameter high-gain antenna, provides communication between the spacecraft and controllers on Earth. Just below is a shiny gold disk, a record called "Sounds of Earth," bearing messages and pictures from our planet. The Voyagers are managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Magellan (1989) (GIF, 42K)

The Magellan spacecraft is depicted in orbit around Venus. Launched in May 1989, Magellan was released in Earth orbit from a space shuttle and then injected into transfer orbit to Venus by an upper stage. During each of several cycles of 243 days each -- approximately one Venusian year -- the spacecraft used synthetic aperture radar to penetrate Venus' thick cloud cover and return maps of about 99 percent of the planet's surface. Other experiments have included measuring heights of surface features on Venus with a radar altimeter as well as studies of the planet's gravitational field. (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Galileo (1989) (GIF, 135K)

In this artist's rendering the Galileo probe, with its heat shield below and a parachute above, enters the turbulent upper atmosphere of Jupiter. About 150 days before Galileo's arrival at Jupiter the probe will separate from the orbiter and travel unattended toward the planet. The orbiter's trajectory will be corrected to send it into Jupiter orbit. The probe will strike the upper atmosphere at about 30 miles per second. Data from its six instruments will be relayed to Earth via the orbiter during the probe's expected 75 minutes of operation before temperature and pressure destroy it.

Cassini (1997 ?) (GIF, 87K)

This artist's rendering depicts the NASA/JPL Cassini spacecraft in orbit around ringed Saturn (lower right background). At the lower left, the European Space Agency's Huygens probe descends to the surface of Saturn's moon Titan (in foreground). Cassini is planned for launch on a Titan IV rocket in October 1997, with Saturn arrival in June 2004. (Courtesy NASA/JPL).

Space History

Copyright © 1995 by Calvin J. Hamilton. All rights reserved.
Last Modified: March 2, 1995