Arts & Entertainment
St. Louis Science Center: Astronomy Fact Of The Day: February 25, 2022
On this date in 1969, NASA's Mars mission Mariner 6 launched. It reached its closest approach to Mars five months later, on July 31. Bot ...

February 25, 2022
On this date in 1969, NASAβs Mars mission Mariner 6 launched. It reached its closest approach to Mars five months later, on July 31. Both Mariner 6 and its twin mission Mariner 7 flew by the equator and south polar region to analyze the atmosphere and send back images of the surface. These were the first up close images of the surface of Mars. These photos helped prove the absence of the βcanalsβ that several 19th century astronomers believed to have seen while using ground-based telescopes.
Find out what's happening in St. Louisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This press release was produced by St. Louis Science Center. The views expressed here are the authorβs own.