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As part of NASA's wider Mariner program, Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 (Mariner Mars 69A and Mariner Mars 69B) completed the first dual mission to Mars in 1969. Mariner 6 was launched from Launch Complex 36B at Cape Kennedy〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mariner 6: Details )〕 and Mariner 7 from Launch Complex 36A at Cape Kennedy.〔 The craft flew over the equator and south polar regions, analyzing the atmosphere and the surface with remote sensors, and recording and relaying hundreds of pictures. The mission's goals were to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys, in order 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. Mariner 6 also had the objective of providing experience and data which would be useful in programming the Mariner 7 encounter 5 days later. ==Spaceflight== On July 29, 1969, less than a week before closest approach, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) lost contact with Mariner 7. The center regained the signal via the backup low-gain antenna and regained use of the high gain antenna again shortly after Mariner 6's close encounter. Leaking gases from a battery (which later failed) were thought to have caused the anomaly.〔 Based on the observations that Mariner 6 made, Mariner 7 was reprogrammed in flight to take further observations of areas of interest and actually returned more pictures than Mariner 6, despite the battery's failure.〔 Closest approach for Mariner 6 occurred July 31, 1969, at 05:19:07 UT〔 at a distance of 〔 above the martian surface. Closest approach for Mariner 7 occurred August 5, 1969 at 05:00:49 UT〔 at a distance of above the martian surface. This was less than half of the distance used by Mariner 4 on the previous US Mars flyby mission.〔 Both spacecraft are now defunct in heliocentric orbits.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mariner 6 and 7」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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