Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.). Mariner C Spacecraft Design Team.

The Mariner C Spacecraft Design Book describes the Mariner Mars 1964 project from the time of its inception until October 1, 1965. When launched November 28, 1964, aboard the launch vehicle Atlas-Agena-D, Mariner C became Mariner 4. Mariner 4 required nine months of successful operation to achieve mission success.

It was the first man-made probe to travel to Mars. Its primary objective was to conduct scientific observations and to transmit the results of these observations back to Earth. The planetary observations to the greatest practical extent, provided maximum information about Mars. Television, cosmic dust detectors and a reasonable complement of fields and particles experiments were carried aboard the spacecraft. In addition, a radio occultation experiment was performed to obtain data relating to the scale height and pressure of the atmosphere of Mars, a first for planetary investigation.

The purpose of the Mariner C Spacecraft Design Book was to provide the design criteria with at least two independent means of initiation for every specific function or event critical to the success of the mission. The spacecraft was required to be fully automatic; it had to be capable of completing its entire mission without ground-based intervention, except for trajectory-correction maneuvers and, of course, tracking and data acquisition. The complexity of its assigned design required that the spacecraft contain 138 000 parts, as compared with 54 000 parts in its predecessor, Mariner 2, with only a 61-kg (135-lb) increase in spacecraft weight. These complicated requirements helped the Mariner Mars 1964 mission define boundaries and provide maximum information about the planet Mars.