Forty-five years ago today — November 28, 1964 — Mariner-4 launched atop an Atlas Agena from Cape Canaveral.
(Mariner-4 spacecraft. NASA image.)
Mariner-4 arrived at Mars on July 14, 1965, where it conducted the first successful flyby of the planet and sent back the first pictures of the Martian surface.
Maybe Mariner would be a good name for the first ship to take people to Mars. Sure wish I could go….
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