Information AboutMariner 10 |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MARINER 10 | |
| mariner program | |
| mercury spacecraft | |
| venus spacecraft | |
| inactive extraterrestrial probes | |
| artificial satellites currently orbiting sun | |
| 1973 in space exploration | |
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Mariner 10 was an Unmanned Space Mission launched on November 3 , 1973 to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus . It was launched approximately 2 Year s after Mariner 9 and was the last spacecraft in the Mariner Program (Mariners 11 and 12 were redesignated Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 ). VENUS FLYBY in Ultraviolet light.]] Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to make use of a " Gravitational Slingshot " manoeuvre, using Venus to bend its flight path and bring its Perihelion down to the level of Mercury's orbit. It used the solar Radiation Pressure on its Solar Panel s and its high-gain antenna as a means of attitude control during flight. Using a near- Ultraviolet filter, it Photograph ed the Venusian Chevron Cloud s and performed other Atmospheric studies. It was discovered that extensive cloud detail could be seen via Mariner's ultra-violet camera filters. Venus's cloud cover is nearly featureless in visible light. Earth-based ultra-violet observation did reveal some indistinct blotching even before Mariner 10. But, the detail seen by Mariner was a surprise to most researchers. MERCURY FLYBYS Mariner 10 flew past Mercury three times in total. Owing to the geometry of its orbit — its orbital period was almost exactly twice Mercury's — the same side of Mercury was sunlit each time, so only half of the planet was mapped by Mariner. It revealed a more or less moon-like surface. On on March 29 , 1974 at a range of 703 kilometres (437 miles). After looping once around the Sun while Mercury completed two orbits, Mariner 10 flew by Mercury again on September 21 , 1974 at a more distant range of 48,070 km (29,870 mi). A third and final encounter, the closest to Mercury, took place on March 16 , 1975 at a range of 327 km (203 mi). Contact with the spacecraft was terminated on March 24 , 1975 . Presently, Mariner 10 is still orbiting the sun, although its onboard electronics have probably been damaged by the sun's radiation . DISCOVERIES Mariner 10 successfully mapped half of Mercury’s surface, taking over 2,800 photos. It thus contributed enormously to our understanding of the planet, whose surface had not been successfully resolved through telescopic observation. Mariner 10 also discovered that Mercury has a tenuous Atmosphere consisting primarily of Helium , as well as a Magnetic Field and a large Iron -rich Core . During its flyby of Venus, Mariner 10 discovered evidence of rotating clouds and a very weak magnetic field. NOTES |
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