View source for Mariner 3

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Short description|Failed NASA mission to Mars (1964)}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = Mariner 3
| image              = Mariner 3 and 4.jpg
| image_caption      = Mariner 3 is identical in design with [[Mariner 4]]
| mission_type       = [[Mars]] flyby
| operator           = [[NASA]] / [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]]
| mission_duration   = Launch failure
| COSPAR_ID          = 1964-073A
| SATCAT             = 923
| spacecraft         = Mariner C-2
| manufacturer       = [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]
| launch_mass        = {{convert|260.8|kg|lb}}
| power              = 310&nbsp;watts (at Mars encounter)
| launch_date        = {{start-date|November 5, 1964, 19:22:05|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC
| launch_rocket      = [[Atlas-Agena|Atlas LV-3 Agena-D]]
| launch_site        = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]] [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 13|LC-13]]
| launch_contractor  = [[Convair]]
| orbit_reference    = [[heliocentric orbit|Heliocentric]]
| apsis              = helion
| programme          = '''[[Mariner program]]'''
| previous_mission   = [[Mariner 2]]
| next_mission       = [[Mariner 4]]
}}

'''Mariner 3''' (Mariner C-2, together with [[Mariner 4]] known as '''Mariner-Mars 1964''') was one of two identical deep-space probes designed and built by the [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] (JPL) for [[NASA|NASA's]] Mariner-Mars 1964 project that were intended to conduct close-up (flyby) scientific observations of the planet Mars and transmit information on interplanetary space and the space surrounding Mars, televised images of the Martian surface and [[radio occultation]] data of spacecraft signals as affected by the Martian atmosphere back to Earth.{{r|M1964_mechanical|M1964_plan}}

Although the launch was initially successful, there was a separation issue and Mariner 3 stopped responding when its batteries ran out of power. It was the third of ten spacecraft within the [[Mariner program]].

==Background==
[[File:Mariner_3_or_4_diagram.jpg|thumb|Mariner 3 and 4 diagram]]
[[File:JPL mariner test model.jpg|thumb|This photo shows Mariner C-2 configured for system tests in May 1964]]
[[Mariner 2]] had been a modified [[Ranger program|Ranger lunar probe]], however Mariner 3 used a new, larger bus with four solar panels, a TV camera, and additional instrumentation. Because of the greater mass, the new [[RM-81 Agena#Agena-D|Agena D]] stage would be used instead of the [[RM-81 Agena#Agena-B|Agena B]]. Mariner 3 also utilized a new, larger fiberglass payload fairing. Of the two Atlas-Agena pads at Cape Canaveral, [[Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 13|LC-13]] became available first following the launch of an Air Force Vela satellite in July 1964. Atlas vehicle 289D was erected on the pad on August 17, with the backup Mariner probe and booster (Atlas 288D) erected on LC-12 on September 28.

==Launch failure==

Mariner 3 was launched at 2:22 PM EST on November 5, 1964, from [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Kennedy Air Force Station]] Launch Complex 13. After an uneventful boost phase, the Agena completed its burn to place the probe on a trajectory towards Mars. One hour after launch, the first [[telemetry]] transmissions from Mariner 3 were received, indicating that the scientific instruments were functioning correctly but there was no indication of any solar panel operation. Unsure of the exact problem, ground controllers issued a command to turn off the rate gyros to conserve power while they worked to figure out what had happened. Telemetry data suggested a separation failure of either the Agena or the payload fairing, but a below-normal velocity appeared to indicate that the fairing had not separated properly. A command was sent to manually jettison the payload shroud, but nothing happened. The ground controllers next considered firing Mariner 3's midcourse correction engine to blow off the shroud, but they ran out of time. Eight hours after launch, the batteries in the probe died and the mission was officially terminated. Even if the shroud could be removed, the mission would have failed, since the low velocity meant that Mariner 3 would miss Mars by several million miles.{{r|afsm|Pyle2012}}

Three weeks later, on November 28, 1964, [[Mariner 4]] was launched successfully on a 7½-month voyage to Mars.

==Instruments==
The instruments on Mariner 3 included:<ref name=nasa1/>
# [[Television camera]]
# [[Magnetometer]]
# [[Plasma (physics)|Plasma]] [[Langmuir probe|probe]]
# [[Cosmic ray]] [[telescope]]
# [[Van Allen radiation|Trapped radiation]] detector
# [[Cosmic ray]] [[ionization]] chamber
# [[Cosmic dust]] detector

==See also==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
* [[Exploration of Mars]]
* [[List of missions to Mars]]
* [[Robotic spacecraft]]
* [[Space exploration]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="afsm">{{cite web
| url= http://www.afspacemuseum.org/ccafs/CX13/
| title= Launch Complex 13
| access-date= 27 August 2012
| archive-date= 10 October 2018
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181010091837/http://afspacemuseum.org/ccafs/CX13/
| url-status= dead }}
</ref>

<ref name="M1964_mechanical">{{cite web
| url= https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660027080_1966027080.pdf
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100522071912/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660027080_1966027080.pdf
| archive-date= 22 May 2010
| url-status= dead
| title= Mariner Mars 1964 Mechanical Configuration
| publisher= [[NASA]]
| access-date= 29 December 2011 }}
</ref>

<ref name=M1964_plan>{{cite book
| url= https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19660014211
| title= Spaceflight Operations Plan Mariner Mars '64
| date= 17 August 1964
| publisher= [[NASA]]
| id= 19660014211
| format= PDF
| access-date= 29 December 2011
| author1= D. W. Douglas }}
</ref>

<ref name="nasa1">{{cite report
| title= JPL Technical Memorandum No. 33-229, To Mars: The Odyssey of Mariner IV
| publisher= [[NASA]] / [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]]
| date= 1 January 1965
| pages= 21–23
| url= https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19650018349/downloads/19650018349.pdf
| access-date= 3 November 2012
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220413181531/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19650018349/downloads/19650018349.pdf
| archive-date= 13 April 2022
| url-status= live
}}</ref>

<ref name="Pyle2012">{{cite book
| author1= Rod Pyle
| title= Destination Mars: New Explorations of the Red Planet
| date=2012
| publisher=[[Prometheus Books]]
| isbn= 978-1-61614-589-7
| pages= 348
| quote=It eventually joined its sibling, Mariner 3, dead ... in a large orbit around the sun. }}
</ref>

}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110516142501/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Mariner_03 Mariner 3 Mission Profile] by [https://web.archive.org/web/20010202092700/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ NASA's Solar System Exploration]
*[https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19660014211 Space Flight Operations Plan Mariner Mars '64 (PDF)]

{{commons}}

{{Mariner program | before=[[Mariner 2]] | after=[[Mariner 4]] }}
{{Mars spacecraft}}
{{Orbital launches in 1964}}

[[Category:Missions to Mars]]
[[Category:Mariner program]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1964]]
[[Category:Derelict satellites in heliocentric orbit]]
[[Category:Derelict space probes]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Atlas-Agena rockets]]

[[de:Mariner#Mariner 3 und 4]]