Mariner 3 (together with Mariner 4 known as Mariner-Mars 1964) was one of two identical deep-space probes designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for NASA's Mariner-Mars 1964 project that were intended to conduct close-up (flyby) scientific observations of the planet Mars and transmit information on interplanetary space and the space surrounding Mars, televised images of the Martian surface and radio occultation data of spacecraft signals as affected by the Martian atmosphere back to Earth.[1][2]
![]() The Mariner 3 or 4 spacecraft, which were identical | |
Mission type | Mars flyby |
---|---|
Operator | NASA / JPL |
COSPAR ID | 1964-073A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 923 |
Mission duration | Launch failure |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
Launch mass | 260.8 kilograms (575 lb) |
Power | 300 watts (at Mars encounter) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | November 5, 1964, 19:22:05 (1964-11-05UTC19:22:05Z) UTC |
Rocket | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-13 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Heliocentric |
Mariner |
Although the launch was initially successful, there was a separation issue and Mariner 3 stopped responding when its batteries ran out of power. It was the third of ten spacecraft within the Mariner program.
Mariner 2 had been a modified Ranger lunar probe, however Mariner 3 used a new, larger bus with four solar panels, a TV camera, and additional instrumentation. Because of the greater mass, the new Agena D stage would be used instead of the Agena B. Mariner 3 also utilized a new, larger fiberglass payload fairing. Of the two Atlas-Agena pads at Cape Canaveral, LC-13 became available first following the launch of an Air Force Vela satellite in July 1964. Atlas vehicle 289D was erected on the pad on August 17, with the backup Mariner probe and booster (Atlas 288D) erected on LC-12 on September 28.
Mariner 3 was launched at 2:22 PM EST on November 5, 1964, from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 13. After an uneventful boost phase, the Agena completed its burn to place the probe on a trajectory towards Mars. One hour after launch, the first telemetry transmissions from Mariner 3 were received, indicating that the scientific instruments were functioning correctly but there was no indication of any solar panel operation. Unsure of the exact problem, ground controllers issued a command to turn off the rate gyros to conserve power while they worked to figure out what had happened. Telemetry data suggested a separation failure of either the Agena or the payload fairing, but a below-normal velocity appeared to indicate that the fairing had not separated properly. A command was sent to manually jettison the payload shroud, but nothing happened. The ground controllers next considered firing Mariner 3's midcourse correction engine to blow off the shroud, but they ran out of time. Eight hours after launch, the batteries in the probe died and the mission was officially terminated. Even if the shroud could be removed, the mission probably would have failed anyway since the low velocity meant that Mariner 3 would miss Mars by several million miles.[3][4]
Three weeks later, on November 28, 1964, Mariner 4 was launched successfully on a 7½-month voyage to Mars.
The instruments on Mariner 3 included:[5]
Mariner 3, dead and still ensnared in its faulty launch shroud, in a large orbit around the sun.
Mariner program | |
---|---|
Spacecraft missions to Mars | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
Active |
| |||||||||
Past |
| |||||||||
| ||||||||||
Future |
| |||||||||
| ||||||||||
Exploration |
| |||||||||
Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign † indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned. |
← 1963 · Orbital launches in 1964 · 1965 → | |
---|---|
Poppy 3 · GGSE-1 · SOLRAD 7A · SECOR 1 | OPS 3367A · OPS 3367B | Relay 2 | Echo 2 | Jupiter Nosecone | Elektron 1 · Elektron 2 | Ranger 6 | OPS 3444 | Zond 3MV-1 No.2 | Kosmos 25 | OPS 2423 | OPS 3722 | OPS 3435 | Kosmos 26 | BE-A | Luna E-6 No.6 | OPS 3467 | Kosmos 27 | Ariel 2 | Zond 1 | Kosmos 28 | Gemini 1 | Polyot 2 | Luna E-6 No.5 | Transit 5BN-3 · Transit 5E-4 | OPS 3743 | Kosmos 29 | OPS 2921 | Kosmos 30 | OPS 3592 | Apollo AS-101 | OPS 4412 | OPS 3483 | Molniya-1 No.2 | Kosmos 31 | Kosmos 32 | OPS 3236 | OPS 4467A · OPS 4467B | OPS 3754 | Kosmos 33 | ESRS | Atlas-Centaur 3 | Kosmos 34 | OPS 3395 | OPS 3684 · OPS 4923 | Elektron 3 · Elektron 4 | OPS 3491 | Kosmos 35 | Vela 2A · Vela 2B · ERS-13 | Ranger 7 | Kosmos 36 | OPS 3042 | Kosmos 37 | OPS 3802 · OPS 3216 | Kosmos 38 · Kosmos 39 · Kosmos 40 | Syncom 3 | OPS 2739 | Kosmos 41 | Kosmos 42 · Kosmos 43 | Kosmos 44 | Titan 3A-2 | OGO-1 | Kosmos 45 | OPS 3497 | Apollo AS-102 | OPS 4262 | Kosmos 46 | Explorer 21 | OPS 3333 | Kosmos 47 | OPS 5798 · Dragsphere 1 · Dragsphere 2 | OPS 4036 | Explorer 22 | Voskhod 1 | Kosmos 48 | OPS 3559 | Strela-1 No.6 · Strela-1 No.7 · Strela-1 No.8 | OPS 4384 · OPS 5063 | Kosmos 49 | Kosmos 50 | OPS 5434 | OPS 3062 | Mariner 3 | Explorer 23 | OPS 3360 | Explorer 24 · Explorer 25 | Mariner 4 | Zond 2 | DS-2 No.2 | OPS 4439 | Kosmos 51 | Titan 3A-1 | Surveyor Mass Model | OPS 6582 · Transit 5E-5 | San Marco 1 | OPS 3358 | Explorer 26 | OPS 3762 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets. |