Recordeddatespace
Mariner 10 passes Mercury — the first spacecraft to reach it
The first of three passes, photographing a cratered, Moon-like surface no telescope had resolved. Encounter class: flyby.
Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.
Subjects
- Mariner 10 · mission · not located
- Mercury · celestial body · not located
Evidence
Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.
NSSDCA master catalogue — Mariner programme
Launch dates, flyby dates and gravity-assist record for the Mariner planetary flybys.
NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive · Partly verified
NSSDCA master catalogue, Mariner 2, 4 and 10 entries
Recorded on Mariner 10
- Mariner 10 uses Venus to reach Mercury — the first gravity assist to another planet
- Mariner 10 passes Mercury — the first spacecraft to reach it
- Mariner 10’s third and final Mercury pass
- MESSENGER’s first Mercury pass — the first visit since 1975
- MESSENGER enters orbit around Mercury — the first craft to do so
- MESSENGER strikes Mercury at the end of its mission
- BepiColombo’s first Mercury flyby
- BepiColombo’s sixth and final Mercury flyby
- BepiColombo Mercury orbit insertion — declared target
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- BepiColombo’s sixth and final Mercury flyby · 2025-01-08
- BepiColombo Mercury orbit insertion — declared target · 2026-11
- BepiColombo’s first Mercury flyby · 2021-10-01
- MESSENGER strikes Mercury at the end of its mission · 2015-04-30
- MESSENGER enters orbit around Mercury — the first craft to do so · 2011-03-18
- MESSENGER’s first Mercury pass — the first visit since 1975 · 2008-01-14
- Mariner 10’s third and final Mercury pass · 1975-03-16
- Mariner 10 uses Venus to reach Mercury — the first gravity assist to another planet · 1974-02-05