What was the purpose of the Mariner 10 mission?
Mariner 10 was the only mission to Mercury until NASA’s MESSENGER mission more than 30 years later. On its way to Mercury, Mariner 10 became the first spacecraft to use the gravity of one planet (in this case, Venus) to reach another. This has become an extremely important technique.
When was the Mariner 10 space probe launched?
Mariner 10 was an American robotic space probe launched by NASA on November 3, 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus. It was the first spacecraft to perform flybys of multiple planets.
What kind of antenna did Mariner 10 have?
Mariner 10 carried a motor driven high-gain dish antenna, a 1.37 m diameter aluminum honeycomb-disk parabolic reflector, which was mounted on a boom on the side of the spacecraft. A low-gain omnidirectional antenna was mounted at the end of a 2.85 m boom extending from the anti-solar face of the spacecraft.
How is the attitude of the Mariner 10 determined?
Mariner 10 determined its attitude using two optical sensors, one pointed at the Sun, and the other at a bright star, usually Canopus; additionally, the probe’s three gyroscopes provided a second option for calculating the attitude. Nitrogen gas thrusters were used to adjust Mariner 10 ‚ s orientation along three axes.
When did Mariner 10 turn off the transmitter?
NASA commanded Mariner 10 to turn off its transmitter on March 24, 1975, after the spacecraft ran out of fuel. Today, Mariner 10 is still presumably orbiting the sun, but we haven’t heard anything from the spacecraft since then.
How did Mariner 10 avoid impact with Mercury?
The spacecraft used solar pressure on its solar panels and high-gain antenna for attitude control. Mariner 10 once again sped away from Mercury before a final and third encounter with Mercury, enabled by three maneuvers (Oct. 30, 1974, Feb. 13, 1975, and March 7, 1975), the last one actually to avoid impact with the planet.
How many miles would Mariner 10 deviate from its course?
If Mariner 10 was to maintain a course to Mercury, its trajectory could deviate no more than 200 kilometers (120 mi) from a critical point in the vicinity of Venus.