1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
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Mariner 2, an American space probe to Venus, was the first robotic space probe to conduct a successful planetary encounter. The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program, it was a simplified version of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger program and an exact copy of Mariner 1. The Mariner probe consisted of a 39.4-inch diameter hexagonal bus with solar panels, instrument booms, and antennas. The scientific instruments on board the Mariner spacecraft were: two radiometers, a micrometeorite sensor, a solar plasma sensor, a charged particle sensor, and a magnetometer. These instruments were designed to measure the temperature distribution on the surface of Venus and to make basic measurements of Venus’ atmosphere. Mariner 2 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Aug. 27, 1962, and passed as close as 21,607 miles to Venus on Dec. 14, 1962.
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