Triumph of Mariner 4
Explore Mars In DepthMars HomeFactsMars ExplorationOverviewRover BasicsMars Exploration Science GoalsMission Timeline SummaryMars MissionsMars Sample ReturnMars Perseverance RoverMars Curiosity RoverMAVENMars Reconnaissance OrbiterMars OdysseyMars Relay NetworkMore Mars MissionsMultimediaImagesVideoAudioMore ResourcesNews & FeaturesLatest Mars ArticlesThe Mars ReportNewsletter HomeMoreThe Solar System ‘Triumph of Mariner 4’ Sixty years ago, NASA’s Mariner 4 became the first spacecraft to fly by Mars, capturing the first close-up images of any planet beyond Earth. Its pictures of a barren, cratered surface snuffed out notions of little green men and alien civilizations, but they ignited the era of Mars exploration. For as long as humans have looked up, Mars has beckoned. A pale orange point of light, unlike anything else in the night sky. A glowing cinder, floating above the campfire. Tantalizing, but out of reach. What’s up there? What does it look like — up close? No one could know for sure, even using the finest instruments and telescopes on Earth, when peering from 35 million...