Expanded Robotic Program (1963)

 In the 1960s, while NASA focused its efforts on sending humans to the Moon before 1970 through the Apollo program, proponents of robotic exploration planned a dramatic expansion of NASA's existing and planned robotic exploration programs. In December 1963, during a presentation, advocates of robotic exploration sought to shift NASA's priorities towards science in the Ranger, Surveyor, Lunar Orbiter, Mariner, and Voyager programs.

The Apollo program dominated NASA at that time, with a primary focus on the Moon, but existing and planned robotic programs were also underway. In a presentation on December 2, 1963, the Director of the Lunar and Planetary Program, Oran Nicks, sought funding to enhance existing programs and add new science-focused missions, such as the Voyager Mars/Venus program.

The Ranger program, despite several failures in its previous missions, continued with a presentation by program manager N. William Cunningham. Improvements were discussed, and the launch of Ranger VI, designed to photograph the Moon in January 1964, was followed by additional Rangers in the subsequent years.

Surveyor Program manager Benjamin Milwitzky emphasized the importance of his program in gathering essential data about the lunar surface to facilitate future manned landings. He proposed restoring Surveyor's science payload capability by adding fluorine to the Atlas rocket propellant.

Next, Lunar Orbiter Program manager Lee Scherer proposed incorporating science-focused missions that would orbit the Moon at different inclinations, allowing for a broader exploration of the lunar surface.


The Voyager Mars/Venus program, though not yet approved, was presented by Donald Hearth. It was described as an ambitious series of robotic probes to explore Mars and Venus with an estimated cost of $2.9 billion over 11 years.

However, despite these plans, NASA reported shortly after the presentation that it could not afford to expand its lunar and planetary robotic programs. Cutbacks were announced in these programs, limiting opportunities for science-focused missions.

Despite the cutbacks, some successful science-focused missions were carried out, including Rangers VII and VIII, Lunar Orbiters 4 and 5, and the Surveyor mission to Tycho. The Mariner program continued successfully exploring Mars and later Mercury, while the Voyager program was canceled in 1967, making way for the Viking program for Mars exploration. The Voyager designation later resurfaced for the derived Mariner probes that explored the outer planets in 1977.

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