Mariner Mars 1971 ( First orbiter Mariner 9 ) |
Mariner Mars 1971 ( First orbiter Mariner 9 ) |
Guest_PhilCo126_* |
Apr 27 2008, 03:32 PM
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Guests |
The 998 kg Mariner 9 was launched on 30th May 1971 and arrived at the red planet on 14th November 1971 to become the first planetary orbiter:
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Apr 27 2008, 10:27 PM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8784 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Mariner 9 was actually my first real induction into the world of UMSF. It wasn't a brief flyby with a few pics in AW&ST or Science very much after the fact...things kept coming.
Still remember waiting for the dust storm to settle, and what the hell were those dark spots in the Tharsis area? (Giant volcanoes, of course....duh! What did you think, what did you expect of a planet as dead as the Moon?) Heady times indeed. Mariner 9 really disrupted conventional wisdom in so many ways. We learned that brief glimpses of a world never, ever paint the complete picture at all. -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Apr 28 2008, 01:08 AM
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Interplanetary Dumpster Diver Group: Admin Posts: 4404 Joined: 17-February 04 From: Powell, TN Member No.: 33 |
Mariner-9 was the first planetary probe that reminds me of a modern mission to anything beyond the moon. It had a really high quality camera (although it had an afterimage problem that was solved on Mariner 10 and subsequent missions by use of a flashbulb) and returned thousands of images. Mariners 6 and 7 gave us our first taste but still has a relatively primitive feel.
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