Mariner 10 was a NASA robotic space probe launched in 1973 that became the first spacecraft to use a planetary gravity assist, flying past Venus to bend its trajectory toward Mercury. It was the first spacecraft to visit Mercury, making three flybys of the planet between 1974 and 1975 and returning the first close up images of its cratered surface, and it remained the only spacecraft to visit Mercury until NASA MESSENGER mission arrived more than three decades later. Mariner 10 also returned the first close range images of Venus cloud cover during its flyby of that planet.
Facts
Spacecraft Type ManufacturerJet Propulsion Laboratory 2 Status
Status (category)Mission Complete / Ended 1 Connections
Associated With
Operated By
Mariner 10 was a NASA/JPL mission, the first spacecraft to visit Mercury.
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Sources
1. Mariner 10 (Wikipedia)
Mariner 10 was launched approximately two years after Mariner 9 and was the last spacecraft in the Mariner programView the Source 2. Wikipedia - Mariner 10
Infobox, mission type
Planetary exploration
Infobox, manufacturer
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Infobox, launch date
3 November at 17:45 UTC
- In Group: Mercury Probes, Mariner 10 was an American robotic space probe launched by NASA on 3 November 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus. It was the first spacecraft to visit Mercury and the first to perform
View the SourceWikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationOperated By: NASA, Wikipedia: Mariner 10, lead sectionView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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