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Witchcraft To Mars Essay

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NASA has sent several spacecraft to Mars, the ones I am going to discuss first ore the spacecraft’s that are no longer in operation. The first spacecraft that was sent to Mars that is no longer in operation is Marine 3, which was designed to make the first flyby of Mars. Marine 3 got launched on November 3, 1964. However, the shroud encasing the spacecraft above the rocket didn’t open properly, causing Marine 3 to not get to Mars, making it unsuccessful. However shortly after Marine 3 NASA sent Marine 4, it got launched on November 28, 1964 and got to Mars on July 14, 1965. This spacecraft was able to take 21 photos and its total flight time was 228 days (Cain). The next two spacecraft’s that were sent to Mars were Marine 6 and 7. Marine 6 …show more content…

The Mars observer “was based on a commercial Earth-orbiting communications satellite that had been converted into an orbiter for Mars. The payload of science instruments was designed to study the geology, geophysics and climate of Mars” (Greicius). The Mars observer was unsuccessful when NASA lost touch with the spacecraft right before it was going to enter orbit around Mars. The next spacecraft was that was launched was the Mars Pathfinder, which was launched on December 4, 1996. The Mars Pathfinder returned large amount of data when it explored an ancient flood plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars. The next spacecraft that was sent to Mars was the Mars Climate Observer Orbiter which launched on December 11, 1998. This was “designed to function as an interplanetary weather satellite and a communications relay for Mars Polar Lander. The orbiter carried two science instruments: a copy of an atmospheric sounder on the Mars Observer spacecraft lost in 1993, and a new, lightweight color imager combining wide- and medium-angle cameras” (Greicius). The Mars Climate Observer Orbiter was lost upon arrival on September 23, 1999. Engineers concluded that the spacecraft probably blew up after it entered the planet’s atmosphere too low. The next spacecraft was the Mars Polar Lander which launched on January 3, 1999. Its mission

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