Mariner 10 Mercury Encounter
Abstract
Mariner 10's closest approach to Mercury on 29 March 1974 occurred on the dark side of the planet at a range of approximately 700 kilometers. The spacecraft trajectory passed through the shadows of both the sun and Earth. Experiments conducted included magnetic fields, plasma and charged particle studies of the solar wind interaction region, television photography, extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy of the atmosphere, the detection of infrared thermal radiation from the surface, and a dual-frequency radio occulation in search of an ionosphere.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- July 1974
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.185.4146.141
- Bibcode:
- 1974Sci...185..141D