View source for Mariner 8

{{Short description|Failed NASA mission to Mars (1971)}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = Mariner 8
| image              = Mariner09.jpg
| image_caption      = Mariner 8 is identical in design with [[Mariner 9]]
| mission_type       = [[Mars]] orbiter
| operator           = [[NASA]]/[[JPL]]
| mission_duration   = Failed to orbit
| spacecraft         = Mariner-H
| manufacturer       = [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]
| dry_mass           = {{convert|558.8|kg}}
| launch_mass        = {{convert|997.9|kg}}
| power              = 500&nbsp;watts
| launch_date        = {{start-date|May 9, 1971, 01:11:02|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC
| launch_rocket      = [[Atlas-Centaur|Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D]]
| launch_site        = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]] [[Spaceport Florida Launch Complex 36|LC-36A]]
| launch_contractor  = 
| orbit_epoch        = Planned
| orbit_reference    = [[Areocentric orbit|Areocentric]]
| orbit_periapsis    = 
| orbit_apoapsis     = 
| orbit_inclination  = 
| orbit_period       = 
| apsis              = areion
| programme          = '''[[Mariner program]]'''
| previous_mission   = [[Mariner 7]]
| next_mission       = [[Mariner 9]]
}}

[[Image:Mariner8 launch.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Launch of Mariner 8]]

'''Mariner-H''' ('''Mariner Mars '71'''), also commonly known as '''Mariner 8''', was (along with [[Mariner 9]]) part of the Mariner Mars '71 project. It was intended to go into Mars orbit and return images and data, but a launch vehicle failure prevented Mariner 8 from achieving [[low Earth orbit|Earth orbit]] and the spacecraft reentered into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after launch.<ref name=Pyle2012/>

==Mission==

Mariner 8 was launched on an [[Atlas-Centaur]] SLV-3C booster (AC-24). The main Centaur engine was ignited 265 seconds after launch, but the upper stage began to oscillate in pitch and tumbled out of control. The Centaur stage shut down 365 seconds after launch due to starvation caused by the tumbling. The Centaur and spacecraft payload separated and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere approximately {{convert|1500|km}} downrange and fell into the Atlantic Ocean about {{convert|560|km}} north of Puerto Rico.

A guidance system failure was suspected as the culprit, but JPL navigation chief Bill O'Neil dismissed the idea that the entire guidance system had failed. He argued that an autopilot malfunction had occurred since the event had occurred at the exact moment when the system was supposed to activate. Investigation proceeded quickly and the problem was soon discovered to be the result of a malfunction in the pitch rate gyro amplifier. A diode intended to protect the system from transient voltages was thought to have been damaged during repairs/installation of the pitch amplifier's printed circuit board, something that would not have been detected through bench tests.

{{As of|2024}}, Mariner 8 is the most recent US planetary probe to be lost in a launch vehicle malfunction.

==Mariner Mars 71 Project==

The Mariner Mars 71 project consisted of two spacecraft (Mariners H and I), each of which would be inserted into a Martian orbit, and each of which would perform a separate but complementary mission. Either spacecraft could perform either of the two missions. The two spacecraft would have orbited the planet Mars a minimum of 90 days, during which time data would be gathered on the composition, density, pressure, and temperature of the atmosphere, and the composition, temperature, and topography of the surface. Approximately 70 percent of the planetary surface was to be covered, and temporal as well as spatial variations would be observed. Some of the objectives of the Mariner-H mission were successfully added to the Mariner-I (Mariner 9) mission profile.<ref name=Pyle2012/>

Total research, development, launch, and support costs for the Mariner series of spacecraft (Mariners 1 through 10) was approximately $554 million.<ref name=Pyle2012/>

==Spacecraft and subsystems==
[[Image:Mariner 8 assembly.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Mariner 8 during solar arrays installation]]
The Mariner 8 spacecraft was built on an octagonal [[magnesium]] frame, {{convert|45.7|cm}} deep and {{convert|138.4|cm}} across a diagonal. Four [[Photovoltaic array|solar panels]], each {{convert|215|x|90|cm}}, extended out from the top of the frame. Each set of two solar panels spanned {{convert|6.89|m}} from tip to tip. Also mounted on the top of the frame were two propulsion tanks, the maneuver engine, a {{convert|1.44|m}} long low gain antenna mast and a parabolic high gain antenna. A scan platform was mounted on the bottom of the frame, on which were attached the mutually bore-sighted science instruments (wide- and narrow-angle TV cameras, infrared radiometer, ultraviolet spectrometer, and infrared interferometer spectrometer). The overall height of the spacecraft was {{convert|2.28|m}}. The launch mass was {{convert|997.9|kg}}, of which {{convert|439.1|kg}} were expendables. The science instrumentation had a total mass of {{convert|63.1|kg}}. The electronics for communications and command and control were housed within the frame.

[[File:Mariner 8 diagram.jpg|thumb|Mariner 8 diagram]]

Spacecraft power was provided by a total of 14,742 [[solar cell]]s which made up the 4 solar panels with a total area of {{convert|7.7|m2}} area. The solar panels could produce 800 W at Earth and 500 W at Mars. Power was stored in a 20 [[ampere hour]] [[nickel-cadmium battery]]. Propulsion was provided by a gimbaled engine capable of 1340 N thrust and up to 5 restarts. The propellant was monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. Two sets of 6 attitude control [[nitrogen]] jets were mounted on the ends of the solar panels. Attitude knowledge was provided by a Sun sensor, a Canopus star tracker, gyroscopes, an inertial reference unit, and an accelerometer. Passive thermal control was achieved through the use of louvres on the eight sides of the frame and thermal blankets.

Spacecraft control was through the central computer and sequencer which had an onboard memory of 512 words. The command system was programmed with 86 direct commands, 4 quantitative commands, and 5 control commands. Data was stored on a digital reel-to-reel tape recorder. The {{convert|168|m}} 8-track tape could store 180 million bits recorded at 132&nbsp;kbit/s. Playback could be done at 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1&nbsp;kbit/s using two tracks at a time. Telecommunications were via dual S-band 10 W/20 W transmitters and a single receiver through the high gain parabolic antenna, the medium gain horn antenna, or the low gain omnidirectional antenna.

==See also==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
* [[Exploration of Mars]]
* [[List of missions to Mars]]
* [[Space exploration]]
* [[Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes]]
* [[Unmanned space mission]]s

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<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= 73-78 }}
</ref>

}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120722140016/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Mariner_08 Mariner 8 Mission Profile] by [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov NASA's Solar System Exploration]

{{Mariner program | before=[[Mariner 6 and 7]] | after=[[Mariner 9]] }}
{{Mars spacecraft}}
{{Orbital launches in 1971}}

[[Category:Mariner program]]
[[Category:Missions to Mars]]
[[Category:Satellite launch failures]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Atlas-Centaur rockets]]
[[Category:Spacecraft which reentered in 1971]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1971]]

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