Mariner 4: The First Glimpse of Mars
For centuries, people looked up at the night sky and wondered what Mars was really like. Some early astronomers thought they saw straight lines on its surface, which led to wild stories about active canals and alien civilizations. In the summer of 1965, a robotic spacecraft named Mariner 4 finally arrived to replace these guesses with real evidence.
Mariner 4 was not designed to touch down on the Martian surface or stay in orbit around the planet. Instead, it was a flyby mission. A flyby spacecraft travels along a planned path that carries it past a planet just once. Because it does not slow down to enter orbit like an orbiter, or descend through the atmosphere like a lander, its time near the target is brief. On July 14, 1965, Mariner 4 zoomed past Mars at a distance of about 6,118 miles. Its single television camera began taking photographs as it swept by, capturing the very first close-up images ever taken of another planet from deep space.
- astronomers:
- Scientists who study stars, planets, and other objects in space.
- robotic:
- Operated by machines or computers rather than human beings.
- flyby:
- A spacecraft flight past a target world without stopping or going into orbit.
- transmitters:
- Electronic devices used to send radio signals and information across distances.
- barren:
- Empty, dry, and unable to support plant or animal life.
- atmosphere:
- The layer of gases that surrounds a planet or moon.
- hemisphere:
- One half of a sphere or planetary body.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What beliefs did some early astronomers hold about Mars before spacecraft visited it?
- 2How does a flyby spacecraft differ from an orbiter or a lander?
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About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“Mariner 4: The First Glimpse of Mars” is a explanatory article reading passage about Mariner 4 Mars flyby, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (470 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.