On November 13, 1971, Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars. Space History Archives👉 https://space-com.visitlink.me/mTso8R At the time, scientists didn't know much about the Red Planet. NASA had several flybys before Mariner 9. Those flybys showed that Mars had a cratered surface, so some scientists thought that Mars looked just like the moon. Then Mariner 9 blew their minds. When Mariner 9 got to Mars, it arrived in the middle of a dust storm. It saw some tall structures sticking