Mariner 2 was a U.S. space probe to Venus and the first robotic space probe
in the NASA Mariner program to conduct a successful planetary encounter. The
spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral on August 27, 1962 and passed
as close as 21,607 Miles to Venus.
Launch of Mariner 2
Detailed Graph of the Mariner 2 Spacecraft.
The three-member crew consisted of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot
Harrison Schmitt.
Apollo 17 was the final mission of the United States‘ Apollo program. It was the
first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the final manned launch of a
Saturn V rocket.
Apollo 17 broke several records set by previous flights, including the longest
manned lunar landing flight; the longest total lunar surface extravehicular
activities; the largest lunar sample return, and the longest time in lunar orbit.

Artist’s impression of Pioneer 10 ‘s flyby of Jupiter.
Pioneer 10, launched on March 3, 1972, was an American space probe that
became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System
and completed the first flyby mission of the planet Jupiter. Radio communications
were lost with Pioneer 10 on January 23, 2003, because of the loss of electric
power for its radio transmitter.
