Mariner 4

[Flyaway]

New Scott Manley video.

Computers Were So Slow Scientists 'Painted' The First Close Up Image Of Mars

View: https://youtu.be/nSQlM6yGh7k

Nov 19, 2022
Mariner 4 would https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/Themes/nsf2019/images/bbc/quote.gifbe the first successful deep space spacecraft to fly by another planet and take a close-up image of the surface. The data rates were so low that it would take 8 hours to downlink the 200x200 images to Earth before the computers could start processing the image and printing them out.
Engineers who had been working on the camera system famously short-circuited the process and began assembling their own image using strips of telemetry printout and coloring them with pastels bought from a local art store.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Beat me to it!

 

[Grey Havoc]

Before what became Mariner 1 & 2, the original Mariner R proposal:

Mariner R

Mariner R

www.astronautix.com

 

[gwiz]

Before what became Mariner 1 & 2, the original Mariner R proposal:

Mariner R

Mariner R

www.astronautix.com

Mariner 1 & 2 were launched in 1962. Mariner 1 was lost in a launch vehicle failure, Mariner 2 successfully flew by Venus 1962 December 14 and discovered the planet's high surface temperature.

 

[Grey Havoc]

On a side note, regarding Mariner 2:

On this day in space: April 18, 2014: NASA's LADEE probe crashes into the moon

On April 18, 2014, NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) ended its mission by crashing into the moon.

www.space.com

 

[NMaude]

Mariner 1 was lost in a launch vehicle failure,

The Atlas-Agena launching Mariner 1 didn't fail itself what caused its' self-destruction was due to a simple programming error in its' guidance-computer (The Atlas D first-stage used a command-inertial guidance system with the guidance computer being on the ground).

In regards to Mariner 4's camera subsystem:

MARS Photos taken by Mariner IV in 1965 were the first close-up Martian photos ever taken. The Mars photos were taken with a specially designed on-board camera system and digital tape recorder that sent Mars photos back to earth. This video presentation includes rare film and photos of the 1964-1965 Mariner IV mission adventure, including behind the scenes design work and thoughts of the original scientists on the project. Shows how they made the specially designed vidicon based camera and the challenges they faced protecting it on its journey to Mars. Run time: 18 mins. Color and sound.​

Portions adapted from the film: “EXPERIMENT: Close up of Mars: The Story of a Scientific Search”1966: stock footage available from Periscope Film http://www.periscopefilm.comWith Special Thanks to​

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration​
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California​

MISSION FACTS Launched by NASA on November 28, 1964 and performed first MARS flyby on July 14, 1965. Mariner 4 contained a specially designed camera with a digital tape recorder which successfully captured 21 digital pictures of the surface of mars. Mariner IV used a vidicon-based television camera tube developed and manufactured by General Electrodynamics Corporation (“GEC”). GEC had developed a special selenium based compound as the target material in the vidicon. This was a very unique design.​

A specially built camera system converted photographs into digital information, which was then transmitted to earth to provide the closest views of the planet Mars ever taken. The signals for these images were recorded and stored in digital form on a 300 foot, continuous-loop magnetic tape recorder until the earth station requested transmission after the spacecraft has appeared from behind Mars and was detectable to earth based antennas.​

On July 15 Mariner 4 passed within 6117 miles of Mars, spending 25 minutes observing the Mars surface. The Vidicon-based television camera captured 21 full pictures. Each photo covered an area of about 77 square miles. It took about 8 hours to transmit each image back to Earth. Mariner IV operated for a total of 7,375 hours since it was launched. Mariner 4 continues to be regarded as one of NASA’s most successful missions​

References:

NASA Technical Report: “Mariner 4 pictures of Mars” By Allen, J. D.; Leighton, R. B.; Murray, B. C.; Sharp, R. P.; Sloan, R. K, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 1967 (Archive.org)https://archive.org/details/nasa_tech...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...oc_19680006637/page/n5/mode/2up&v=hTfn0MSNTCc
Article: “Television in Space,” by Leslie Solomon. Associate Editor, “Electronics World,” 1965. https://www.rfcafe.com/references/ele...​

Mariner 4 launch:

Launch of Mariner 4 on November 28, 1964, from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 12. Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first close-up pictures of the Martian surface. There's little available footage of this launch, perhaps because of poor weather. The previous attempt (Mariner 3) has less cloud cover, being usually shown on documentaries instead.

 

[publiusr]

In some respects, Mariner may have done more damage than Viking.

Both of those landers came down in about the ugliest terrain imaginable.

Mariner's sin was worse.

Not only did it have worse photography than later missions (with plucky rovers people could root for) but it also killed the idea of "Old Mars."

Poor Ray Bradbury....he didn't live long enough to see Starship...but he did live long enough to see Mariner's disappointing findings that got the Red Planet called "the Moon with bad weather."

It took until the 1990s for Mars to interest the public again--which is in danger of disappearing again what with grousing about MSR's cost and the current political situation.

Where folks have been blinded by SpaceX 's performance --the *cause* of space is taking a bigger hit.

I begin to think that--after Falcon was perfected--humanity might have been better off had he done like Howard Hughes and stayed in a darkened room away from everyone.

Me? Were I President at the time--I would have had Mariner's findings classified as part of reverse psychology to get my political opponent motivated:

"What are they hiding? When I am elected--I'll support a manned Mars mission to see what is really going on!" The best way to get something you want done--is to oppose it to where your enemy makes it priority #1.

Oh, well.

The Hoaglands and Loebs of the world at least serve some purpose, unlike flat-Earther/Young-Earthers.

 

[NMaude]

Me? Were I President at the time--I would have had Mariner's findings classified as part of reverse psychology to get my political opponent motivated:

I doubt that would've worked as no doubt some of the JPL scientists would've spilled the beans.

 

[Arjen]

Were I President at the time--I would have had Mariner's findings classified as part of reverse psychology to get my political opponent motivated

Because withholding information helps technology?
“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled” - Richard Feynman

 

[publiusr]

Nature can't be fooled--but the public can be, as we saw in the past election

Now, how to get folks believing in a "probe gap" like they used to fret over the "missile gap?"

Maybe an A.I. Morton Downey Jr. screaming at everyone who doesn't support Interstellar Probe. Or a virtual Ann Coulter calling everyone a commie who doesn't support Mars Sample Return.

Seems to work.