FOREWORD For many centuries scientific information about the planets and the vast void that separates them has been collected by astronomers observing from the surface of the Earth. Now, with the flight of Mariner Il, we suddenly have in our hands some 90 million bits of experimental data measured in the region between Earth and the planet Venus. Thus, man for the first time has succeeded in sending his instruments far into the depths of space, and indeed, in placing them near another planet. A whole new area of experimental astronomy has been opened up. This book is a brief record of the Mariner Project to date and is de- signed to explain in general terms the preliminary conclusions. Actually, it will be months or years before all of the data from Mariner II have been completely analyzed. The most important data were the measure- ments made in the vicinity of the planet Venus, but it should also be noted that many weeks of interplanetary environmental measurements have given us new insight into some of the basic physical phenomena of the solar system. The trajectory data have provided new, more accurate measurements of the solar system. The engineering measurements of the performance of the spacecraft will be of inestimable value in the design of future spacecraft. Thus, the Mariner II spacecraft to Venus not only looks at Venus but gives space scientists and engineers information help- ful in a wide variety of space ventures. A project such as Mariner II is first a vast engineering task. Many thousands of man-hours are required to design the complex automatic equipment which must operate perfectly in the harsh environment of space. Every detail of the system must be studied and analyzed. Theoperations required to carry out the mission must be understood and per- formed with precision. A successful mission requires every member of the entire project team to do his task perfectly. Whether it be the error of a designer, mechanic, mathematician, technician, operator, or test engineer—a single mistake, or a faulty piece of workmanship, may cause the failure of the mission. Space projects abound with examples of the old saying, “For want of a nail, the shoe was lost... ,” and so on, until the kingdom is lost. Only when every member of the project team is conscious of his responsibility will space projects consistently succeed. The Mariner II Project started with the Lunar and Planetary Projects Office of the Office of Space Sciences at NASA in Washington. Jet Pro- pulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, personnel pro- vided the main body of the team effort. They were heavily supported by industrial contractors building many of the subassemblies of the space- craft, by scientists planning and designing the scientific experiments, and by the Air Force which supplied the launching rockets. Several thousand men and women had some direct part in the Mariner Project. It would be impossible to list all of those who made some special contribution, but each and every member of the project performed his job accurately, on time, and to the highest standards. Mariner II is only a prelude to NASA’s program of unmanned missions to the planets. Missions to Mars as well as Venus will be carried out. Spacecraft will not only fly by the planets as did Mariner II, but cap- sules will be landed, and spacecraft will be put into orbit about the planets. The next mission in the Mariner series will be a flyby of the planet Mars in 1965. By the end of the decade, where will we be exploring, what will new Mariners have found? Will there be life on Mars, or on any other planet of the solar system? What causes the red spot on Jupiter? What is at the heart of a comet? These and many other questions await answers obtained by our future spacecraft. Mariner II is just a beginning. W. H. PrickeRING Director Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology April, 1963