\<COLOUR 1> CLOSEST APPROACH: \<COLOUR 0> 34,830 km, December 14, 1962
\<COLOUR 1> COUNTRY: \<COLOUR 0> USA
\<COLOUR 1> COMMENTS: \<COLOUR 0> First successful probe to Venus, similar to the Ranger lunar probe in design; Mariner reports that Venus's surface temperature under the unbroken cloud cover is at least 425 degrees C; last contact with probe in January 1963 at a distance of nearly 90 million km.