Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Solarsystem Collection
title:
Mariner 8
description:
Mariner-71H (also called Mariner-H) was the first of a pair of American spacecraft intended to explore the physical and dynamic characteristics of Mars from Martian orbit. The overall goals of the series were to search for an environment that could support life; to collect data on the origin and evolution of the planet; to gather information on planetary physics, geology, planetology, and cosmology; and to provide data that could aid future spacecraft such as the Viking Landers.

Launch of Mariner-71H was nominal until just after separation of the Centaur upper stage, when a malfunction occurred in the stage's flightcontrol system, leading to loss of pitch control at an altitude of 148 kilometers at T 4.7 minutes. As a result, the stack began to tumble and the Centaur engines shut down. The stage and its payload reentered Earth's atmosphere approximately 1,500 kilometers downrange from the launch site.
date:
05.09.1971
keywords:
Solar System Exploration
keywords:
SSE
keywords:
Space
keywords:
NASA
keywords:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
keywords:
JPL
keywords:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
keywords:
Planets
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
Earth
facet_what:
Mariner
facet_what:
Viking
facet_what:
Centaur
facet_what:
Mariner-H
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_when:
05-09-1971
facet_when_year:
1971
UID:
SPD-SLRSY-3403
original url:

Mariner 8