Page 20 - (DK) Eyewitness - Mars

Mariner 9: first to orbit Mars

12-hour orbit
In early 1971, U.S. and Soviet scientists hurried High point about
11,300 miles
to be the first to put a spacecraft into orbit around (18,306 km) Deimos
Mars. Each nation prepared more than one Mars
vehicle for this important mission. There were
two Mariners and three Soviet probes. The first Phobos
to launch was Mariner 8, which took off on May 8,
but crashed into the Atlantic. On May 30, Mariner Low point about
800 miles
9 blasted off successfully. The first Soviet probe (1,296 km)
also failed, but the other two soon were racing to MAN-MADE SATELLITE
Mariner 9 was the first artificial
Mars. The American vehicle got there first, going satellite to orbit Mars, but the
into orbit on November 13, two weeks before the planet also has two small
moons, Phobos and Deimos. In
Soviets. Mariner 9 did spectacular work, sending October 1972, after the fuel
back detailed spectroscopic data and 7,300 supply for its controls was used
up, the spacecraft was turned
photographic images that off. Scientists expected it to
covered the entire Martian remain in orbit for 50 years
before crashing onto the
surface. Now, Mars could planet’s surface.
be studied as never
before.

INTRODUCTION TO PHOBOS
Mariner 9 provided the first
close views of Phobos, the larger
of Mars’s two moons. This image
was taken from a distance of
3,600 miles (5,760 km). It shows the
cratered surface, with some craters as small as
330 yards (300 m) across.

MARS UNDER DUST
A gigantic dust storm blanketed Mars when Mariner
9 arrived. In this photo, only two of the peaks of the
Tharsis volcanoes are visible. Mariner’s instruments Volcanoes are the only
were shut down to conserve power. The Soviet features visible above
orbiters sent down landers that failed, and the dust storm
orbiters ran out of power before the dust cleared.