Mariner 10 made its third and last flyby of the planet Mercury, March 16, 1975. The probe was launched November 3, 1973, the last of NASA's Mariner program and made a flyby of Venus February 5, 1974.
It made three flybys of Mercury, the last being the closest at 203 miles above the surface near the north pole. Mariner 10 discovered a tenuous atmosphere consisting of helium, a magnetic field and a large, iron-rich core. Daytime temperatures can reach 369 °F and nighttime temperatures can drop as low as -297 °F.
Mariner 10 remains in orbit around the sun.
No comments:
Post a Comment