A real-time data translator machine converted Mariner 4 digital image data into numbers printed on strips of paper.

This is an enhanced contrast version of the first Mars photograph released on July 15, 1965. This is man first close-up photograph of another planet, a photographic representation of digital data radioed from Mars by the Mariner 4 spacecraft.

A model of the Mariner-C spacecraft at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center for a June 1964 Conference on New Technology. Mariner-C and Mariner-D were identical spacecraft designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to flyby Mars and photograph the Martian surface. Mariner-C was launched on November 4, 1964, but the payload shroud did not jettison properly and the spacecraft’s battery power did not function. The mission ended unsuccessfully two days later. Mariner-D was launched as designed on November 28, 1964 and became the first successful mission to Mars. It was the first time a planet was photographed from space. Mariner-D’s 21 photographs revealed an inhospitable and barren landscape. The two Mariner spacecraft were launched by Atlas-Agena-D rockets. Lewis had taken over management of the Agena Program in October 1962. There had been five failures and two partial failures in the 17 Agena launches before being taken over by NASA Lewis. Lewis, however, oversaw 28 successful Agena missions between 1962 and 1968, including several Rangers and the Mariner Venus '67.

Scale Model of Agena/Mariner-C in the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

Researcher Bobby Sanders examines a 0.10-scale model of the Mariner-C shroud and Agena rocket in the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. Mariner-C and Mariner-D were identical spacecraft designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to flyby Mars and photograph the Martian surface. The two Mariner spacecraft were launched by Atlas-Agena-D rockets. Lewis had taken over management of the Agena Program in October 1962. Lewis researchers investigated two different types of shrouds for the Mariner missions—an over-the-nose design and a backup pyrotechnic design. The new shroud was wider in diameter than the Agena rocket, so there was concern that this disparity might create air flow instability that could damage the shroud or destroy the vehicle. The tests in the 8- by 6 tunnel simulated launch speeds from Mach 0.56 to 1.96. Afterwards the Agena-Mariner-C model was studied in the 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at speeds of Mach 2.0 to 3.5. Mariner-C was launched on November 4, 1964, but the payload shroud did not jettison properly and the spacecraft’s battery power did not function. The mission ended unsuccessfully two days later. Mariner-D was launched on November 28, 1964 and became the first successful mission to Mars. It was the first time a planet was photographed from space. Mariner-D’s 21 photographs revealed an inhospitable and barren landscape.