The Mariner 2, launched to Venus on August 27, 1962, was built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the University of California. On December 14, 1962, the spacecraft passed within 41,000 kilometers of Venus, returning important data on the conditions of Venus and its atmosphere. This was the first successful encounter of a spacecraft with another planet. Mariner 2 also returned extremely important data on the electromagnetic and energetic particle environment of interplanetary space. This videohistory session brought together a group of engineers, scientists, and administrators associated with Mariner to discuss the construction, launch, and operation of the country's first successful planetary probe. The interview was conducted in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of a week-long series of events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Mariner 2. Allan Needell, curator at the National Air and Space Museum, moderated the session on Decmeber 11, 1987. He sought to document how well the group operated as a team, specifically the process by which they--as scientists, managers, and engineers--worked together, even when the sense of the mission and procedure differed. The group consisted of Jack Albert, Albert R. Hibbs, Lewis D. Kaplan, Jack N. James, and Oran W. Nicks.