Mariner 6:
Overview
Mariners 6 and 7 were identical teammates in a two-spacecraft mission to
Mars. Launched 31 days apart on
Atlas/Centaur rockets, the spacecraft arrived at their closest approach to Mars (3,430
kilometers, or 2,130 miles) just four days apart. They transmitted to Earth a total of 143 pictures of Mars
as they approached the planet and 55 close-up pictures as they flew past the equator and
southern hemisphere. The images, covering about 20% of the planet, revealed a surface
quite different from
Earth's moon,
somewhat contrary to the impressions left by
Mariner 4's
images. Mariners 6 and 7 revealed cratered deserts, as well as depressions with no
craters, huge concentrically terraced impact regions, and collapsed ridges. The spacecraft
also studied the atmosphere and its chemical composition.
Visit the Mariner 6 Website
