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Whose mission first returned close-up images of Mars’s surface?

Quick Answer

NASA’s Mariner 4 sent the first close-up images of Mars in 1965. The pictures showed a cratered, Moon-like world rather than the canal-covered planet some had imagined.

The Full Story

Mariner 4 flew past Mars in July 1965 and transmitted the first close-range photographs of the planet. The images revealed a heavily cratered surface, reshaping scientific ideas about Mars. Before that, many people imagined a more Earth-like planet, partly because of earlier telescopic misunderstandings. Mariner 4 marked the beginning of modern Mars exploration.

Key Facts

1.Mariner 4 flew by Mars in 1965
2.It sent the first close-up Mars images
3.The flyby showed a cratered surface

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"The Mars photos that shocked the world"

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