But it is Mariner 4, the first flyby mission of Mars, which set the stage for a lot of the science being done on and around Mars today, and the first mission where NASA wisely took a “pics or it ...

An curved arrow pointing right. 2015 marked 50 years of successful NASA missions to Mars which started with Mariner 4 in 1965. These are the NASA rovers and satellites currently exploring the planet.

Numbering the years gives scientists a common point of reference that predates the first successful Mars flyby mission—NASA’s Mariner 4 in 1965. Since then, humanity has sent a succession of ...

This dispelled earlier theories of canals and intelligent life on Mars. Mariner 4's success paved the way for subsequent missions like the Viking landers, rovers like Perseverance, and future ...