- mariner
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/mar"euh neuhr/, n.1. a person who directs or assists in the navigation of a ship; sailor.2. (cap.) Aerospace. one of a series of U.S. space probes that obtained scientific information while flying by or orbiting around the planets Mars, Mercury, and Venus.[1250-1300; ME < AF; OF marinier. See MARINE, -ER2]
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Mariners 2 (1962) and 5 (1967) passed Venus within 22,000 mi (35,000 km) and 2,500 mi (4,000 km), respectively, and made measurements of temperature and atmospheric density. Mariners 4 (1965), 6 and 7 (1969), and 9 (1971–72) obtained striking photographs of the surface of Mars and analyzed its atmosphere and magnetic field. Mariner 10 is the only spacecraft ever to have visited Mercury (1974–75).* * *
▪ United States space probesany of a series of unmanned U.S. space probes sent to the vicinities of Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Mariners 2 (launched 1962) and 5 (1967) passed Venus within 35,000 and 4,000 km (22,000 and 2,500 miles), respectively, and made measurements of temperature and atmospheric density. Mariners 4 (1964), 6 and 7 (1969), and 9 (1971) obtained striking photographs of the Martian surface and made significant analyses of the atmosphere of that planet. Mariner 10 (1973), which flew by Venus once and Mercury three times, came within 330 km (200 miles) of the latter planet on its third pass; it transmitted back to Earth the first close-up pictures of Mercury's surface, as well as analyses of its atmosphere and magnetic field.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
