Back to Launches
Atlas SLV-3C Centaur | Mariner 6

Mariner 6

Launch Successful

Launch Details

Date: 25 Feb 1969, 01:29 am UTC

Rocket: Atlas SLV-3C Centaur (Atlas)

Provider: United States Air Force

Mission

Type: Robotic Exploration

Orbit: Mars flyby

Pad: Launch Complex 36B, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Mission Description

Mariner 6 and 7 comprised a dual-spacecraft mission to Mars, the sixth and seventh missions in the Mariner series of spacecraft used for planetary exploration in the flyby mode. The primary objectives of the missions were to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys to establish the basis for future investigations, particularly those relevant to the search for extraterrestrial life, and to demonstrate and develop technologies required for future Mars missions and other long-duration missions far from the Sun.