Mariner fly‐by

As June ended, the world's farthest‐out physics laboratory was fast approaching its moment of truth. On July 14, after 240 days and more than 300 million miles of travel, Mariner IV would have its encounter with Mars. Eight experiments aboard, six of which have been observing fields and particles since the time of launching, were awaiting their opportunities to measure many qualities of Mars and its environment: magnetic moment, trapped radiation, surface pressure, density and height of atmosphere, surface texture and configuration. Responsibility for the eight experiments is assigned to 29 physicists from eleven institutions.