Mariner 2 launched successfully on August 27, 1962. The journey to Venus took approximately 110 days. Mariner 2 faced its own tribulations through the interplanetary trek.

On Sept. 4, 1962, NASA's Mariner 2 spacecraft performed the first-ever rocket maneuver in deep space as it did a quick mid-course correction on its way to Venus. It had launched just eight days ...

This is a 1/20th scale model of Mariner 2, the space probe that on December 14, 1962, radioed back to Earth useful scientific information from another planet, in this case Venus, for the first time.