Off to Mercury with a cold glance — Science News, November 10, 1973
Mariner 10 arrived on schedule, becoming the first probe to visit Mercury and map a portion of its cratered, moonlike terrain. The gravity assist that Mariner used to reach its destination is now a trusted way to get around the solar system (SN: 7/12/15; SN: 7/5/18). NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft used gravity assists from Mercury, Venus and Earth to reach an orbit around Mercury in 2011, where the probe mapped the rest of the planet’s surface, uncovered evidence of past volcanism and spotted signs of water ice and organic compounds (SN: 11/29/11; SN: 3/22/12; SN: 11/30/12).
Today, the international BepiColombo mission is using gravitational assists from Mercury — following one from Earth and two from Venus — to steer itself into eventual orbit around the planet (SN: 1/15/21). Beginning in 2025, BepiColombo will investigate Mercury’s innards and magnetic field.
2023-11-08 11:39:55
Source from www.sciencenews.org
