An Atlas-Centaur vehicle carrying the Mariner 9 spacecraft lifted off to Mars at 6:23 p.m. EDT, May 30, 1971, from Cape Kennedy's Launch Complex 36B. The spacecraft is scheduled to orbit Mars following a six-month journey that will span 287 million miles. Mariner will map a major portion of the planet, studying selected areas to observe composition, density, pressure and temperature of the atmosphere and the temperature and composition of the surface. Two on-board television cameras will return highly detailed pictures of the Red Planet.
NASA
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