Trinket, here's an article copied from the Canadian Space Agency's website, chronicling the attempts to explore Mars by us and the Russians.
The Mariner 4 is the first one to make it there successfully. So, while it's true that the picture is blurry, who knows what went wrong. They were probably pretty excited that they actually made it there ahead of the Russians. Maybe during the blast off the optics got out of alignment. I really don't know, but on the other hand airplanes were pretty standard fare already, and they could use known existing optics technology on the U2 but had to invent the one that would travel into space and take pictures of Mars from a many hundreds of miles away.
Who knows what wrong? It's probably documented somewhere. All things considered though, the magnitude of the accomplishment of getting the ship to Mars before the Russians far outweighs the failure of the camera. That's one way of looking at things.
I've seen some pretty wild problems with optics in my years in the semiconductor industry. We once had a period lasting close to a year, where we simply couldn't get the objective lenses made to our specifications, even though they already existed. Couple that with all the necessary software systems needed to pull that off in those days, and it's not all that surprising that something went wrong.
Hell, I once said that during those years if we were making planes instead of measurement tools, they <b>all </b>would have crashed.
Copied from Candian Space Agency:
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Past Mars Missions: An International Affair
Since 1960, there have been 37 missions to Mars. Attempts to explore the Red Planet have been marked by numerous failures, particularly in the first decade of the space age. What follows is a brief overview of the missions in chronological order. It shows the problems in space exploration and the perseverance of Russian, American, Japanese, European and Canadian researchers, who have been sending probes and devices to Mars for over 40 years. Canada's participation is described in the third section, "The '90s: Learning More about Mars.
First Chapter
The '60s: Beginnings
1960: The first secret attempts
Marsnik 1
(Photo: NASA)
October 10
The launch of Marsnik 1 takes the whole world by surprise, especially the United States. The space probe, secretly launched by the USSR, is designed to investigate interplanetary space and the long-term effects of a long voyage on spacecraft instruments. However, Marsnik 1 does not produce enough thrust at launch and fails to leave the Earth's atmosphere.
October 14
Marsnik 2 is launched four days after its twin and is just as secret a mission. But the probe disintegrates as it leaves Earth's atmosphere.
1962: The Soviets lead the way
October 24, 1962
Sputnik 22, launched during the Cuban missile crisis, causes some concern in the U.S. The probe, intended to fly by the Red Planet and capture images of it, explodes as it goes into Earth orbit. Debris from the spacecraft remains in Earth orbit for a few days and decays in the atmosphere.
November 1, 1962
The mission of the Russian probe Mars 1 is to fly by the Red Planet to capture images of its surface and transmit data on its atmospheric structure and cosmic rays. Halfway through the journey, communication with Mars 1 is lost. The probe now orbits the Sun.
November 4, 1962
The ambitious Sputnik 24 is the first lander ever designed. But the USSR's attempt to manoeuvre it onto the proper trajectory fails and the spacecraft is lost. The Ballistics Missile Early Warning System in the U.S. identifies spacecraft debris in the Earth's atmosphere.
Mars 1 (Photo: NASA)
1964: The U.S. is on board
November 5
The United States joins the race to Mars with Mariner 3. The probe is one of a series of spacecraft intended to fly by the Red Planet, photograph it and study its environment. A malfunction at launch prevents the probe from separating from the launch vehicle and Mariner 3 cannot be put into its trajectory to Mars.
Mariner 4
(Illustration: NASA)
November 28
On July 14, 1965, Mariner 4 succeeds in photographing Mars, returning the first close-up image of another planet. A total of 21 images are returned to Earth. The probe then studies Mars's cosmic environment. The Mariner 4 mission is terminated in 1967 because of damage resulting from a micro-meteor shower.
First close-up image of Mars, taken by Mariner 4. It shows an area of about 330 km by 1,200 km. The barely visible blurred area above the horizon to the left may be clouds. (Photo: NASA)
November 30
Zond 2 is a Soviet orbiter with a variety of scientific instruments. After its launch, two solar panels fail to function. Although the setback does not put an end to the mission, problems persist for the probe: at mid-mission, communication is lost. Zond 2 continues its course after having flown by Mars.
1969: The first set of data is returned
Mariner 6 and 7 (Illustration: NASA)
February 24 and March 27
Mariner 6 and 7 are NASA's second twin Mariner probes. These missions make it possible to examine the components of the Martian atmosphere and determine research parameters for extraterrestrial life. Mariner 6 and 7 return hundreds of images of Mars, including images of canals that for a long time were thought to have been developed by extraterrestrials. The new images from Mariner 6 and 7 show that these are natural geological structures.
These pictures of Mars were taken by Mariner 7 in 1969 on approach to the Red Planet. The circular feature in the upper-centre of the sphere is a 25-km high volcano. In 1969, it was believed that it was a meteorite impact crater. (Photo: NASA)
Mars 69
(Photo: NASA)
March 27 and April 2
Mars-69 521 and 522 are two Soviet orbiters which, upon reaching Mars, would deploy a landing unit to the planet's surface to photograph its environment. Unfortunately, both probes explode at launch, within a month of each other. This is the first attempt by the Soviets at using proton rockets.
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I'd say it's a safe bet the Russians would have been happy with blurry pictures, considering how many things exploded at launch. That will reak havoc on the optics.
rd
