Mariner 2, the first probe to Venus

At the dawn of the space age, Mariner 2, the first spacecraft to visit another planet, Venus, was launched this day in 1962.  Although it encountered some glitches along the way, it was far more successful than Mariner 1, which had to be destroyed less than five minutes after launch.

Mariner 2 made the journey to Venus relatively unscathed, passing by in December 1962.  It measured solar wind, confirmed the temperature of Venus to be a sultry 864 °F, and atmospheric pressure high enough to crush Soviet probes.  It also discovered that Venus rotates in the opposite direction than the other planets.

However, Mariner 2 did not carry a camera, since cameras were not considered ‘scientific’ equipment, something NASA rectified on the next space probe.

Unfortunately, Mariner 2’s signals were tracked only until January 3, 1963 and is still in orbit around the sun.