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Spacecraft

• Mariner 2
• Mariner 5
• Mariner 10
• MeSSEnGeR
• Venera 4
• Voyager 1
• Voyager 2

Mariner 5

Launched on June 14^th, 1967, Mariner 5 was originally a backup copy of Mariner 4. Since that mission was a success this probe was retasked for Venus.

The probe weighed 244.9kg was to fly past the planet and study it's atmosphere atmosphere as well as the the solar wind using the following instruments:

• Two-Frequency Beacon Receiver
• S-Band Occultation
• Helium Magnetometer
• Interplanetary Ion Plasma Probe
• Celestial Mechanics

The probe flew past Venus on October 9^th, 1697 at an altitude of 3990km and helped to confirm pressure and temperature data from the Venera 4 probe that landed a few months earlier. Venus indeed has a very hot and dense atmosphere.

Communication with the craft was lost in November 1967. The carrier wave was detected October 14^th 1968, but there was no change in carrier wave in response to instructions. Operations were terminated November 5^th. Mariner 5 is now in a heliocentric orbit.

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