Spacecraft Exploration of the Solar System

The first spacecraft to flyby the Planet Mercury in 1974 (3 times) was called the

• Mariner 1.

• Mariner 10.

• Viking I.

• Veneras 12.

Mariner 10 was also the first spacecraft to use Venus as a _____ to save on fuel.

• guidepost

• navigation tool

• planetary way station

• planetary gravity assist

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

A "gravity assist" occurs when a spacecraft uses a planet's gravity field to

• speed up and/or change trajectory (direction).

• slow down enough to land on the surface.

• slow down for orbital insertion.

• speed up just enough not to waste fuel.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

The planet Venus was visited by several U.S. Mariner spacecraft and by a series of Russian

• failed attempts to land.

• manned spacecraft.

• probes named Viking.

• probes named Venera.

Pioneer Venus and the U.S. spacecraft ____ probed the Venusian atmosphere & mapped the surface.

• Viking

• Magellan

• Mariner

• Venera

Mariners 4, 6, 7 & 9 flew by the planet ____ revealing close-up pictures of a desolate surface.

• Mars

• Venus

• Mercury

• Jupiter

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

The twin orbiter/landers called _____ first mapped Mars & then landed on it's surface.

• Viking I & II

• Voyager I & II

• Mariner 6 & 7

• Venera 12 & 13

The first high-definition mapping of Mars' surface occurred starting in the late 1990's with

• Mariner flyby missions.

• the Viking orbiter/landers.

• the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS).

• the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

The Sojourner/Pathfinder mission to Mars was the first to successfully

• land on the planet and not crash.

• land a rover that investigated Martian rocks up-close.

• map the surface in detail.

• search for microbial life on the surface.

Later more advanced Martian rovers including Spirit , Opportunity & Curiosity explored

• and colonized the planet.

• the deepest canyons of Mars.

• the tallest mountain in the solar system - Olympus Mons.

• much farther with a wider range than Pathfinder did.