At its closest approach to Venus, the spacecraft instruments would be required to scan the planet during a brief 35-minute encounter, to gather data that would enable Earth scientists to determine the temperature and structure of the atmosphere and the surface, and to process and transmit that data back to the Earth. THE ORGANIZATION Flying Mariner to Venus was a team effort made possible through the combined resources of several United States governmental organizations and their contractors, science, and industry. The success of the Mariner Project resulted primarily from the over-all direction and management of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the production and launch capabilities of the vehicle builders and the Air Force. Several organizations bore the major responsibility: NASA Headquarters, JPL, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Launch Operations Center, Astronautics Division of General Dynamics, and Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. NASA: FOR SCIENCE The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was an outgrowth of the participation of the United States in the International Geophysical Year program and of the nation’s space effort, revitalized following Russia’s successful orbiting of Sputnik I in 1957. [Illustration: _Final NACA meeting, August 21, 1958._] [Illustration: _Model of X-1 research plane._] [Illustration: _Headquarters of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C._] [Illustration: _JPL developed first JATO units in 1941._] [Illustration: _Other Laboratory Projects were the Corporal missile (left) and Explorer I (right), the first U.S. satellite._] Under the terms of the law which created NASA, it is a Federal Agency dedicated to carrying out “activities in space ... devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind.” NASA is charged to preserve the role of our nation as a leader in the aeronautical and space sciences and technology and to utilize effectively the science and engineering resources of the United States in accomplishing these goals. Activities associated with military operations in space and the development of weapons systems are specifically assigned to the Defense Department. In November, 1957, before the creation of NASA, President Eisenhower had established a Scientific Advisory Committee to determine the national objectives and requirements in space and to establish the basic framework within which science, industry, and the academic community could best support these objectives. The Committee submitted a report to the President in March, 1958, recommending creation of a civilian agency to conduct the national space programs. The recommendation, endorsed by the President, was submitted to the Congress on April 2, 1958. The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 was passed and became law in July, 1958.