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dsc31147.jpg

The sign which accompanied the Mariner 2 replica.

It read


MARINER 2 VENUS PROBE
(replica)
First Spacecraft to Study Another Planet

On December 14, 1962, Mariner 2 passed within 34,800 kilometers (21,600 miles) of Venus. The 109-day flight covered a distance of 58 million kilometers (36 million miles). For the first time, useful scientific information was radioed to Earth from the vicinity of another planet. Mariner 2 indicated that Venus is very hot, perhaps more than 427°C (800°F), and it has no measurable magnetic fields or radiation belts. Contact with Mariner 2 was lost on January 2, 1963; it is now in orbit around the Sun.

Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Height: 3.7 m (12 ft)
Width: 5 m (16 ft 6 in)
Weight: 203 kg (447 lb)
Manufacturer: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch vehicle: Atlas-Agena B


The Mariner 2 replica is NASM catalog #A19760027000.

 
Mariner 2 Venus probe sign in the Milestones of Flight gallery at the National Air and Space Museum
Time picture taken Tue Jun 19 10:37:24 2007
Location picture taken Second Floor Balcony
Overlooking Milestones of Flight Gallery
National Air and Space Museum
Washington, DC
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