Mariner 3
Mariner 3 and 4 were identical spacecraft of the
Mariner program designed to carry out the first flybys of
Mars. Mariner 3 was launched on
November 5,
1964, but the shroud encasing the spacecraft atop its rocket failed to open properly, and Mariner 3 did not get to Mars. Unable to collect the Sun's energy for power from its solar panels, the probe soon died when its batteries ran out and is now in solar orbit. Three weeks later, on
November 28,
1964,
Mariner 4 was launched successfully on an eight-month voyage to the red planet.