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The Mariner mission name was decided in May 1960, with a view by NASA
to reflect the mission of planetary probes in the same way that nautical
journeys of centuries ago were adventures to new undiscovered lands.
Mariner 2 became the first manmade space craft to have encountered
another planet when it passed by Venus as part of its mission to visit the
planet in 1962.
Mariner 4 would become the first space craft to visit Mars, giving us an
understanding of a planet that was as an enigma to scientists and
astronomers for centuries.
Later missions would visit Mars, and Venus again as well as Mercury giving us
an insight into our closest neighbor planets in the Solar System.
Missions to Jupiter and Saturn were planned in 1972, before the program to
visit the outer planets of the Solar System was renamed Voyager.
The Mariner program undertaken by NASA
from 1962 to 1973 launched a series of interplanetary
probes designed to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury.
MARINER
