On Aug. 27, 1962, NASA launched Mariner 2, the world's first spacecraft to successfully visit another planet.
Mariner 2 flew by Venus after a 3.5-month voyage through space.
The mission launched just one month after the Mariner 1 mission failed during launch. After departing from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Mariner 2 almost met the same fate when an electrical problem with the Atlas-Agena rocket caused it to start rolling, which made it unable to respond to any guidance commands from mission control.
By some miracle, the problem fixed itself, and Mariner 2 was on its way to Venus!
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