When we think about Martian explorers today, we mostly hear about two rovers that trawl small zones of the planet: the Opportunity rover that exceeded a marathon's distance in 2015, and the Curiosity rover that is trying to track down habitability in the planet's ancient past. Neither of these rovers would have been possible, however, without the Marnier 9 mission, that began in 1971.
Written by Elizabeth Howell. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger.
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