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Which planet was visited first?
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Venus
Venus is the brightest planet visible from Earth besides the Sun and Moon. Venus has been known since prehistoric times but, was first viewed by the spacecraft Mariner 2.
Venus is also known as Earth's sister planet due to their similarities such as: diameter, mass, few craters, density, and chemical composition. -
Mars
Mars, also known as the Red Planet due to its color, has been known since prehistoric time. It was first visited by the spacecraft Mariner 4. -
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fourth brightest star in the sky. Jupiter has been known since the prehistoric times as the " wandering star " amd for it's four big moons. It was first visited by Pioneer 10 in 1973. -
Mercury
Mercury is the largest planet in the solar system. It is also the closest planet to the Sun. Mercury has been known since the 3rd millennium B.C. Mercury was first mapped by the Mariner 10 in 1974. Unfortunately, the Mariner was only able to map 45% of Mercury's terrain -
Saturn
Saturn is known for its rings consisting mainly of ice and water with contamination of dust and other particles. It has been known since prehistoric times and was first observer by Galileo in 1610. The first visit to saturn was by the spacecraft Pioneer 11. -
Uranus
Known for its blue color, Uranus is labeled as the first planet discovered in modern times. Uranus was often over looked as another star until William Herschel viewed it in 1781.This planet has been visited only one time by the Voyager 2. -
Neptune
Also known as the frozen planet, Neptune was first observed in 1846 by Galle and d'Arrest. Unfortunately, Neptune has only been visited once by the Voyager 2. -
Pluto (dwarf planet)
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by accident. Not long after it was discovered, Pluto was ruled too small to be a planet. Pluto has not yet been visited by a spacecraft. In 2006 a spacecraft called New Horizons was launched, if all goes well, it should reach Pluto in 2015. If you would like to learn more about the mission to Pluto that is taking place right now check out New Horizons space craft .
