| Experiment | Description | Experimenters |
|---|---|---|
| Microwave radiometer | Determine the temperature of the planet surface and details concerning its atmosphere | Dr. A. H. Barrett, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; D. E. Jones, JPL; Dr. J. Copeland, Army Ordnance Missile Command and Ewen-Knight Corp.; Dr. A. E. Lilley, Harvard College Observatory |
| Infrared radiometer | Determine the structure of the cloud layer and temperature distributions at cloud altitudes | Dr. L. D. Kaplan, JPL and University of Nevada; Dr. G. Neugebauer, JPL; Dr. C. Sagan, University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard College Observatory |
| Magnetometer | Measure planetary and interplanetary magnetic fields | P. J. Coleman, NASA; Dr. L. Davis, Caltech; Dr. E. J. Smith, JPL; Dr. C. P. Sonett, NASA |
| Ion chamber and matched Geiger-Mueller tubes | Measure high-energy cosmic radiation | Dr. H. R. Anderson, JPL; Dr. H. V. Neher, Caltech |
| Anton special-purpose tube | Measure lower radiation (especially near Venus) | Dr. J. Van Allen and L. Frank, State University of Iowa |
| Cosmic dust detector | Measure the flux of cosmic dust | W. M. Alexander, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA |
| Solar plasma spectrometer | Measure the intensity of low-energy positively charged particles from the Sun | M. Neugebauer and Dr. C. W. Snyder, JPL |
Four experiments for investigation of interplanetary space and the regions near Venus employed: a magnetometer; high-energy charged particle detectors, including an ionization chamber and Geiger-Mueller radiation counters; a cosmic dust detector; and a solar plasma detector.
These six scientific experiments represented the cooperative efforts of scientists at nine institutions: The Army Ordnance Missile Command, the Ewen-Knight Corp., the California Institute of Technology, the Goddard Space Flight Center of NASA, Harvard College Observatory, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the State Universities of Iowa and Nevada, and the University of California at Berkeley. [Table 2] lists the experiments, the experimenters, and their affiliations.
At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the integration of the scientific experiments and the generation of a number of them were carried out under the direction of Dr. Manfred Eimer. R. C. Wyckoff was the project scientist and J. S. Martin was responsible for the engineering of the scientific experiments.
DATA CONDITIONING SYSTEM
Mariner’s scientific experiments were controlled and their outputs processed by a data conditioning system which gathered the information from the instruments and prepared it for transmission to the Earth by telemetry. In this function, the data system acted as a buffer between the science systems and the spacecraft data encoder.
The pulse output of certain of the science instruments was counted and the voltage amplitude representations of other instruments were converted from analog form to a binary digital equivalent of the information signals. The data conditioning system also included circuits to permit time-sharing of the telemetry channels with the spacecraft engineering data, generation of periodic calibration signals for the radiometer and magnetometer, and control of the direction and speed of the radiometer scanning cycle.
During Mariner’s cruise mode, the data conditioning system was used for processing both engineering and science data. If the spacecraft lost lock on the Sun or the Earth during the cruise mode, no scientific data would be telemetered during the reorientation period. Engineering data were sampled and transmitted for about 17 seconds during every 37-second interval. The planetary encounter mode involved only science and no engineering data transmission. In this mode, the science data were sampled during 20-second intervals.
COSMIC DUST DETECTOR
The cosmic dust detector on Mariner II was designed to measure the flux density, direction, and momentum of interplanetary dust particles between the Earth and Venus. These measurements were concerned with the particles’ direction and distance from the Sun, the momentum with respect to the spacecraft, the nature of any concentrations of the dust in streams, variations in cosmic dust flux with distance from the Earth and Venus, and the possible effects on manned flight.