page_title: Mariner 10
section_title: Instruments
hierarchical_section_title: Mariner 10 / Instruments
caption_attribution_description: English: Mariner 10 Diagram On November 3, 1973, the Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973 spacecraft - also known as Mariner 10 - was launched from Kennedy Space Center. It was the first spacecraft designed to use gravity assist. Three months after launch it flew by Venus, changed speed and trajectory, then crossed Mercury's orbit in March 1974. This photo identifies various parts of the spacecraft and the science instruments, which were used to study the atmospheric, surface, and physical characteristics of Venus and Mercury. This was the sixth in the series of Mariner spacecraft that explored the inner planets beginning in 1962.
context_page_description: Mariner 10 was an American robotic space probe launched by NASA on 3 November 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus. It was the first spacecraft to perform flybys of multiple planets.
  Mariner 10 was launched approximately two years after Mariner 9 and was the last spacecraft in the Mariner program.
  The mission objectives were to measure Mercury's environment, atmosphere, surface, and body characteristics and to make similar investigations of Venus. Secondary objectives were to perform experiments in the interplanetary medium and to obtain experience with a dual-planet gravity assist mission. Mariner 10's science team was led by Bruce C. Murray at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
context_section_description: Mariner 10 conducted seven experiments at Venus and Mercury. Six of these experiments had a dedicated scientific instrument to collect data. The experiments and instruments were designed by research laboratories and educational institutions from across the United States. Out of forty-six submissions, JPL selected seven experiments on the basis of maximizing science return without exceeding cost guidelines: together, the seven scientific experiments cost US12.6 million dollars, about one-eighth of the total mission budget.
caption: An illustration showing the instruments of Mariner 10.
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