Excerpt from the November 10, 1973 situation of Science Information
Mariner 10 flew by Mercury 3 times from 1974 to 1975. The NASA spacecraft encountered a cratered, moonlike terrain because it mapped the planet’s floor (a photomosaic of the southern hemisphere proven).
JPL-Caltech/NASA
Off to Mercury with a chilly look — Science Information, November 10, 1973
Mercury ho! Mariner 10 is on its manner. Venus ho, too. Launched at 12:45 a.m. (EST) on Nov. 3, Mariner ought to move inside 3,330 miles of Venus on Feb. 5. It is going to then turn out to be the primary spacecraft to make use of a way … of letting the gravitational discipline of 1 planet bend its course round towards a second goal. That’s Mercury, after all, the place it should arrive lower than two months later.
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Mariner 10 arrived on schedule, turning into the primary probe to go to Mercury and map a portion of its cratered, moonlike terrain. The gravity help that Mariner used to succeed in its vacation spot is now a trusted manner to get across the photo voltaic system (SN: 7/12/15; SN: 7/5/18). NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft used gravity assists from Mercury, Venus and Earth to succeed in an orbit round Mercury in 2011, the place the probe mapped the remainder of the planet’s floor, uncovered proof of previous volcanism and noticed indicators of water ice and natural compounds (SN: 11/29/11; SN: 3/22/12; SN: 11/30/12).
Immediately, the worldwide BepiColombo mission is utilizing gravitational assists from Mercury — following one from Earth and two from Venus — to steer itself into eventual orbit across the planet (SN: 1/15/21). Starting in 2025, BepiColombo will examine Mercury’s innards and magnetic discipline.
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