On Dec. 14, 1962, NASA's Mariner 2 spacecraft flew by Venus.
The Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962, and It took the spacecraft three and a half months to reach Venus. NASA reported several technical problems along the way, but Mariner 2 pulled through, and passed less than 22,000 miles from the surface of Venus. This was the first time a spacecraft successfully flew by another planet. The mission not only taught NASA about Venus, but it also helped NASA figure out how to operate a spacecraft far away from Earth.
The Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962, and It took the spacecraft three and a half months to reach Venus. NASA reported several technical problems along the way, but Mariner 2 pulled through, and passed less than 22,000 miles from the surface of Venus. This was the first time a spacecraft successfully flew by another planet. The mission not only taught NASA about Venus, but it also helped NASA figure out how to operate a spacecraft far away from Earth.
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TechTranscript
00:00 On this day in space.
00:03 In 1962, NASA's Mariner 2 spacecraft flew by Venus.
00:07 The Mariner 2 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962,
00:11 and it took the spacecraft three and a half months to reach Venus.
00:15 NASA reported several technical problems along the way,
00:18 but Mariner 2 pulled through and passed less than 22,000 miles from the surface of Venus.
00:23 This was the first time a spacecraft successfully flew by another planet.
00:27 The mission not only taught NASA about Venus,
00:30 but it also helped NASA learn how to operate a spacecraft out in the solar system.
00:33 And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:36 [music]