Red Planet Day

Every year on November 28, we celebrate Red Planet Day, commemorating the launch of the Spacecraft Mariner 4 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1964. This was the first spacecraft to reach Mars successfully after nearly eight months since its launch. 

The Mariner 4 spacecraft was launched on November 28, 1964, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  The spacecraft was solar-powered and designed to gather information and data by observing the planet Mars and sending it back to the Earth. Another of its objectives was to send back images taken of the planet. 

The images of Mars taken by the spacecraft helped scientists to confirm that the surface of the planet was similar to that of the moon, having widespread craters. It detected the daytime surface temperatures at -148 degrees Fahrenheit (-100 degrees Celsius). 

NASA kept contact with the spacecraft until October 1st, 1965. Two years later, in October 1967, Mariner 4 was reactivated to help with the Mariner 5 mission. Contact was maintained with Mariner 4 till December 31st, 1967, three years after its launch.