Mariner 9

*Mariner 9*
	The Mariner 9 spacecraft
Mission type	Mars orbiter
Operator	NASA / JPL
COSPAR ID	1971-051A
SATCAT no.	5261
Mission duration	1 year, 4 months and 26 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Launch mass	997.9 kilograms (2,200 lb)
Dry mass	558.8 kilograms (1,232 lb)
Power	500 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	May 30, 1971, 22:23:04 UTC
Rocket	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D
Launch site	Cape Canaveral
End of mission
Disposal	Decommissioned
Deactivated	October 27, 1972
Decay date	Around October 2022
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Areocentric
Eccentricity	0.6014
Periareion altitude	1,650 km (1,030 mi)
Apoareion altitude	16,860 km (10,480 mi)
Inclination	64.4 degrees
Period	11.9 hours / 719.47 minutes
Epoch	29 December 1971, 19:00:00 UTC
Mars orbiter
Orbital insertion	November 14, 1971, 00:42:00 UTC
	Mariner ← Mariner 8 Mariner 10 →

Mariner 9 (Mariner Mars '71 / Mariner-I) was a robotic spacecraft that contributed greatly to the exploration of Mars and was part of the NASA Mariner program. Mariner 9 was launched toward Mars on May 30, 1971,^[3]^[4] from LC-36B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and reached the planet on November 14 of the same year,^[3]^[4] becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet^[3] – only narrowly beating the Soviet probes Mars 2 (launched May 19) and Mars 3 (launched May 28), which both arrived at Mars only weeks later.

After the occurrence of dust storms on the planet for several months following its arrival, the orbiter managed to send back clear pictures of the surface. Mariner 9 successfully returned 7,329 images over the course of its mission, which concluded in October 1972.^[5]

^ "Mariner 9". NASA's Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
^ "Mariner 9". NASA's Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mariner 9: Trajectory Information". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved December 28, 2011. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ ^a ^b "Mariner Mars 1971 Project Final Report" (PDF). NASA Technical Reports Server. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
^ "NASA Programs & Missions Historical Log". Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2011-12-12.

[1] "Mariner 9". NASA's Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved September 28, 2023.

[2] "Mariner 9". NASA's Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved November 30, 2022.

[M9_trajectory-3] "Mariner 9: Trajectory Information". National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved December 28, 2011. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[final_report-4] "Mariner Mars 1971 Project Final Report" (PDF). NASA Technical Reports Server. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved December 28, 2011.

[log-5] "NASA Programs & Missions Historical Log". Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2011-12-12.

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