Space Topics: Mercury
Missions to Mercury
Mariner 10 - MESSENGER - BepiColombo
Mariner 10
Credit: NASA/JPL
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Mariner 10
Successful Mercury flyby (NASA)
Launch: November 3, 1973
First Mercury flyby: March 29, 1974
While on its way to Mercury, Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to use
a "gravity assist" to gain speed and alter its course. By first
flying close to Venus, it was able to use the gravity of that planet to
increase its speed and alter its course so it could fly on to Mercury.
Mariner 10 successfully flew by the closest planet to the Sun on three different
occasions: March 29, 1974, September 21, 1974 and March 16, 1975. Mariner
10 took a total of 3,500 images of a little less than half of the surface
of the planet. As far as is known, Mariner 10 is still flying by Mercury every
6 months.
MESSENGER
Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/CIW
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Mercury orbiter (en route) (NASA)
Launch: August 3, 2004
Mercury flybys: January 14, 2008; October 6, 2008; and September 29, 2009
Mercury orbit insertion: planned for March 6, 2011
MESSENGER has completed the first of three Mercury flybys. Once in orbit,
the mission is scheduled to last one Earth year.
BepiColombo
Two Mercury orbiters (not yet launched) (ESA/JAXA)
Launch: planned for August 2013
Arrival: planned for 2019
BepiColombo involves two orbiters: the
Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), to be built by ESA, and the Mercury Magnetospheric
Orbiter (MMO), to be built by JAXA. The
mission would travel to Mercury using ion propulsion combined with gravity
assists of the Moon, the Earth, Venus and Mercury.
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