National Aeronautics and Space Administration Logo
Follow this link to skip to the main content NASA Banner
Solar System Exploration
Missions
SSE Home  >  Missions  >  By Target  >  Mars  >  Past  >  Mariner 3 
Mariner 3
Missions to Mars
  By Target   By Name   By Decade 
Beyond Our Solar System Our Solar System Sun Mercury Venus Moon Earth Mars Dwarf Planets Dwarf Planets Dwarf Planets Asteroids Comets Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Kuiper Belt
 
 Past 
 Present 
 Future 
 Concepts 
Mariner 03
Mariner 3 Mission to Mars

Goals: Mariner 3 was designed to snap a series of photos of Mars after an eight month journey studying interplanetary space.

Accomplishments: None. The spacecraft mysteriously lost power eight hours after launch and its solar panels apparently never unfurled to replenish the batteries. The inert spacecraft never achieved the correct Mars trajectory and eventually entered heliocentric (sun-centered) orbit.

Key Dates
5 Nov 1964:  Launch
6 Nov 1964:  End of Mars Mission
Status: Unsuccessful
Fast Facts
Mariner 03 Facts Mariner 4 was equipped to snap only 21 pictures during its planned Mars flyby.

Its journey to Mars was to take about eight months.

Electrical power for all experiments and spacecraft functions was provided by 28,244 solar cells mounted on four collapsed panels designed to deploy in flight.
People Spotlight
Al Hibbs Al Hibbs
Al Hibbs decided as a five-year-old that he wanted to go to the Moon. He did qualify as an astronaut, but his legacy is in robotic exploration. Read More...
Meet More Space Explorers Meet More Space Explorers
Links
Solar System Bodies: Mars
Images of Mariner 3
Awards and Recognition   Solar System Exploration Roadmap   Contact Us   Site Map   Print This Page
NASA Official: Kristen Erickson
Advisory: Dr. James Green, Director of Planetary Science
Outreach Manager: Alice Wessen
Curator/Editor: Phil Davis
Science Writers: Samantha Harvey & Autumn Burdick
Producer: Greg Baerg
Webmaster: David Martin
> NASA Science Mission Directorate
> Budgets, Strategic Plans and Accountability Reports
> Equal Employment Opportunity Data
   Posted Pursuant to the No Fear Act
> Information-Dissemination Policies and Inventories
> Freedom of Information Act
> Privacy Policy & Important Notices
> Inspector General Hotline
> Office of the Inspector General
> NASA Communications Policy
> USA.gov
> ExpectMore.gov
> NASA Advisory Council
> Open Government at NASA
Last Updated: 30 Nov 2010