WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Technicians prepare to install a solar panel on the Mariner H spacecraft in preparation for its launch to Mars, no earlier than May 7, 1971. The spacecraft will be launched aboard an Atlas Centaur space vehicle from Cape Kennedy's Complex 36A, and will go into orbit around Mars at the completion of a seven-month journey from Earth. It is designed to operate 90 days and return data about the planet's atmospheric and surface characteristics. Following launch, the spacecraft will be designated Mariner 8. A second Mariner Mars spacecraft is scheduled to be launched 10 days later.