Talk:Mariner 10

message: So what happened to this thing? Is it dead in orbit? Did it crash and burn up? 162.138.184.71 (talk) 21:36, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Article currently says it's still orbiting the Sun.  Tempshill (talk) 21:58, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  I don't have any details, but logically it will continue in an orbit which periodically brings it back to the place where Flyby 3 happened. Mercury also comes back to that place periodically. So some day there should be another close encounter. That will change the orbit of Mariner 10, but the new orbit will also come back periodically to that same place, so after who knows how many years there will be a fifth close encounter. This process of occasional close encounters resulting, each resulting in a new orbit which still comes back to the place where Flyby 3 happened, will continue for a long time, centuries I suppose. It's also slightly possible that Mariner will encounter Mercury at a different point, if its orbit crosses that of Mercury at two places, in which case Mariner will periodically come back to this new place of encounter, so new encounters will occur at this place. It seems to me that the only way the process can end is that eventually Mariner 10 will hit Mercury. Eric Kvaalen (talk) 05:10, 7 August 2017 (UTC)

text: No, unfortunately.  As mentioned under the End of mission section, the spacecraft exhausted the included propellant.  If the batteries were ok, the transmitter not damaged from radiation, and the overall shape of the spacecraft in decent, there would be a possibility that contact could be made for a very short period if the antenna ever happened to point toward Earth, but that is a lot of ifs, and the outlook is likely bad, especially in relation to radiation damage.  The instruments on the spacecraft are far inferior to that of MESSENGER and the future launching Bepi Columbo anyway.  So on the upside, we don't really need to. :) --Xession (talk) 03:35, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

text: Oh I'm sure flyby 3 was completed with success.  Don't hold me to that of course but I'm relatively sure. Here is the the briefing for the mission on the PDS for a good general overview of events. Also, if you're really interested in doing some research for this mission, I have a pretty good list of places to start on my user page that would be of good use. --Xession (talk) 04:43, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
replies: text:  Thanks, I see the PDS says about 300 photos were taken in the 3rd encounter. That's good enough for me for now. Rod57 (talk) 03:46, 27 February 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fate of Mariner 10 

message: :Commands were immediately sent to the spacecraft to turn off its transmitter, and radio signals to Earth ceased.
Article should state:  Why was this done when the propellant gas ran out?  Tempshill (talk) 21:58, 11 September 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, I'm curious too. The sentence sounds like it was very important and urgent to shut off the transmitter but I kan't see any obvious relation between radio communication and lack of propellant. Thanks 194.174.76.21 (talk) 16:21, 6 December 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why did they turn off the transmitter? 

message: Perifocal distance            (km)                    3144.969853649
Eccentricity                                            16.687362185
Inclination                   (deg)                     18.178731465
Longitude of ascending node   (deg)                    301.356093378
Argument of periapse          (deg)                    336.485745870
Mean anomaly at epoch         (deg)                     -0.000000000
--108.193.227.46 (talk) 23:25, 15 May 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hyperbolic Orbit 

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thread_title:  External links modified