![]() Separation of the shroud during ascent would be accomplished by using pyrotechnic charges to split the shroud in half along its longitudinal axis with internal jets at the nose opening the severed halves. The lightweight fiberglass UNIPAC shroud concept was designed to encapsulate the payload in a contamination-free environment for prelaunch integration with its rocket and testing. Even before the inception of the Mariner-Mars 1964 project, NASA was already studying a new unified shroud design for its Agena-based missions called UNIPAC. ![]() Since the Ranger-style nose shroud used by Mariner 2 was too small to accommodate the Mariner C and D spacecraft with their larger solar panels and altered antenna configuration, a new and larger shroud was required. The configuration of the Atlas-Agena D launch vehicle used to launch the Mariner-Mars 1964 spacecraft. Responsibility for the launch vehicle was given to NASA’s Lewis Research Center (LeRC) located outside Cleveland, Ohio (now named the Glenn Research Center after Ohio-native, John Glenn). This would be the first time NASA would use the Atlas-Agena D for one of its missions. ![]() In order to get the needed performance, the General Dynamics Atlas D would be mated with a modified version of the improved Agena D built by Lockheed Space and Missile Company (which, after decades of corporate mergers, is now part of the aerospace giant Lockheed Martin along with what was General Dynamics Space Systems Division). This exceeded the capability of the Atlas-Agena B rocket used to launch the 204-kilogram Mariner 2 by about 45 kilograms for the 1964 Mars launch window. In addition, the surface imaging experiment coupled with the longer distances traveled tightened the navigation accuracy requirements making it necessary that a more capable propulsion system be carried for up to two midcourse corrections.Įven with advancements in spacecraft systems design since the Mariner-Venus mission, these requirements pushed the mass of the Mariner-Mars spacecraft up to 261 kilograms. The greater distance from the Earth and Sun at the time of the encounter meant that a more powerful communication system and larger solar panels would be required. The flight to Mars would be over twice as long requiring much higher system reliability. Unfortunately, reaching Mars would be much more difficult than Venus. Launching a pair of spacecraft like they had done for the 1962 Venus opportunity provided some measure of insurance against launch vehicle or spacecraft failures to improve the chances that at least one Mariner spacecraft would survive to encounter Mars. (JPL)įor the Mariner-Mars 1964 project, NASA decided to launch a pair a spacecraft, designated Mariner C and D, to perform observations of Mars during a flyby including securing the first close up images of its surface. Like the Ranger and earlier Mariner-Venus spacecraft, the Mariner-Mars spacecraft would be the responsibility of Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.ĭiagram showing the major components of the Mariner-Mars 1964 spacecraft. Just as they did with the Mariner-Venus missions, NASA would instead be forced to rely on a much lighter weight spacecraft originally derived from the Ranger lunar spacecraft bus (see “ The Prototype That Conquered the Solar System“). While originally NASA wished to send advanced one-ton spacecraft to Mars using the Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle, the Centaur’s continuing development issues meant that it would not be available for the 1964 Mars launch window. The Mariner-Mars 1964 project was officially approved by NASA in early November 1962 – over a month before NASA’s first interplanetary spacecraft, Mariner 2, successfully encountered Venus on December 14 as part of the earlier Mariner-Venus 1962 project. But as the 1964 launch opportunity to Mars approached, the United States was finally ready to join the race to reach Mars. Only the Soviet Mars 1 survived launch to fail 142 days into a 230-day flight due to issues caused by an attitude control malfunction (see “ You Can’t Fail Unless You Try: The Soviet Venus & Mars Missions of 1962“). Another flyby probe and the first ever Mars lander also fell prey to rocket issues during the next launch window in the fall of 1962. In the atmosphere of Cold War competition with the United States, the Soviet Union had attempted to send a pair of flyby probes to Mars in the fall of 1960 only to have them succumb to launch vehicle failures (see “ The First Mars Mission Attempts“). ![]() With a total of seven spacecraft currently operating in orbit and on the surface of Mars today, it seems hard to believe that just a half a century ago we had yet to even reach our much-studied neighbor.
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