Mariner 10 Facts for Kids

Mariner 10 was a robotic NASA space probe. It was launched on November 3, 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus. It passed Mercury three times and photographed much of it. Mariner 10 is no longer working today but is still orbiting the Sun. It was launched about two years after Mariner 9 and was the last spacecraft in the Mariner program. Mariner 10 was the first space probe sent to Mercury.

Images for kids

The Mariner 10 probe
Reprocessed Mariner 10 data was used to produce this image of Mercury. The smooth band is an area of which no images were taken.
Smithsonian display of the Mariner 10 flight spare.
An artists' impression of the Mariner 10 mission. The first mission to perform an interplanetary gravity assist, it used a flyby of the planet Venus in order to decrease its perihelion. This would allow the spacecraft to meet Mercury on three occasions in 1974 and 1975.
An illustration showing the instruments of Mariner 10.
The trajectory of Mariner 10 spacecraft: since launch on 3 November 1973, to first fly-by of Mercury on 29 March 1974.
The Mariner 10 flight spare
Mariner 10 space probe stamp, issue of 1975
Venus encounter
Venus in real colors, processed from clear and blue filtered Mariner 10 images
First Mercury encounter
Six hours before closest approach
Six hours after closest approach
Second Mercury encounter
A mosaic of images from the second encounter, covering the equator to the south pole.
Third Mercury encounter
Mercury in color
Mercury in black and white
Mercury in false-color
A prominent scarp, Discovery Rupes, photographed during the first flyby.
Representation of the thrust fault at Discovery Rupes
Australia region
Aurora region
Caduceata region
The Schubert basin, 190 km (120 mi) in diameter, filled by smooth plains. The basin's hummocky rim is partly degraded and cratered by later events.

Mariner 10 facts for kids

Images for kids

See also