Happy 50th Anniversary, Planetary Exploration!

Fifty years ago to day a space ship passed by the planet Venus. The Earthlings had named the space craft "Mariner 2" and sent it to Venus for purely scientific purposes. Interplanetary domination was never the intention of this or any other Earth mission.

And that began the story of planetary exploration as we know it.

I believe Mariner 2 was the 13th exploratory un-personed space mission by NASA.

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“There is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable point is what part humans are playing in it.” –David Attenborough
Quick hit post from beautiful Walnut, Iowa, but this was too interesting to pass up... Bright plume spotted on Venus, image taken by the ESA Venus Express.
“Now, Venus is an extremely hostile environment, and as such presents a lot of challenges for a science fiction author who wants to create life there.