Mariner 9 is a NASA space orbiter that
helped in the exploration of Mars
and was part of the Mariner
program. Mariner 9 was launched toward Mars on May 30, 1971 from Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station and reached the planet on November 14 of
the same year, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet — only narrowly
beating Soviet Mars 2 and Mars 3, which both arrived
within a month. After months of dust-storms it managed to send back clear
pictures of the surface.
Mariner 9 returned 7329 images
over the course of its mission, which concluded in October 1972.
Mariner 9 remains a derelict
satellite in Mars orbit. It is expected to remain in orbit until approximately
2022, when the spacecraft is projected to enter the Martian atmosphere and
either burn up or crash to the planet's surface.
Photo Legacy: Making your memories last forever www.photolegacy.com
Research courtesy of Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_9
Images courtesy of NASA on The
Commons under The Commons agreement on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasacommons/7651156590/
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