NASA Mariner 10 mission anniversary

On November 3, 1973, NASA launched the Mariner 10 space probe from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission was designed to study two planets during a single journey, utilizing a gravity assist from Venus to reach Mercury.

By using Venus's gravity to alter its trajectory, Mariner 10 became the first spacecraft to successfully reach Mercury on March 29, 1974. This mission demonstrated new methods for reaching difficult targets within the solar system and provided observations that both confirmed and challenged existing scientific understandings of the planets.