| .....Mariner
4 was the fourth in a series of
spacecraft used for planetary exploration
in a flyby mode and represented the first
successful flyby of the planet Mars,
returning the first pictures of the
martian surface. It was designed to
conduct closeup scientific observations
of Mars and to transmit these
observations to earth. Other mission
objectives were to perform field and
particle measurements in interplanetary
space in the vicinity of Mars and to
provide experience in and knowledge of
the engineering capabilities for
interplanetary flights of long duration. .....The Mariner 4
spacecraft consisted of an octagonal
magnesium frame, 127 cm across a diagonal
and 45.7 cm high. Four solar panels were
attached to the top of the frame with an
end-to-end span of 688 cm, including
solar pressure vanes which extended from
the ends. A 116.8 cm diameter high gain
parabolic antenna was mounted at the top
of the frame as well.
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