Spacecraft, Mariner 10, Flight Spare
name: label: Manufacturer
content: Boeing Aerospace Company
notes: label: Summary
content: Mariner 10 was the seventh successful launch in the Mariner series and the first spacecraft to use the gravitational pull of one planet (Venus) to reach another (Mercury). It was also the first probe to visit two planets. Launched on November 3, 1973, it reached Venus on February 5, 1974. Using a gravity assist from this planet, Mariner 10 first crossed the orbit of Mercury on March 29, 1974 and did so a second time on September 21, 1974. A third and last Mercury encounter took place on March 16, 1975. It measured the environments of both Venus and Mercury. It then undertook experiments in the interplanetary medium. Mariner 10 showed that Venus had at best a weak magnetic field, and the ionosphere interacted with the solar wind to form a bow shock. At Mercury, it confirmed that Mercury had no atmosphere and a cratered, dormant Moon-like surface.
label: Summary
content: This flight spare was transferred from NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the Museum in 1982.
label: Alternate Name
content: Mariner 10
label: Key Accomplishment(s)
content: First Spacecraft to Use Gravity Assist
label: Brief Description
content: Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to use the gravitational pull of one planet to reach another and the first probe to visit two planets. Launched November 3, 1973, it reached Venus on February 5, 1974. Using gravity assist, it went on to fly by Mercury.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
label: Location
content: National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
label: Exhibition
content: Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transferred from NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19830006000
objectType: label: Type
content: SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed-Communications
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Aluminum, mixed metals
label: Dimensions
content: Overall: 6 ft. tall x 6 ft. wide x 6 ft. deep (182.88 x 182.88 x 182.88cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Other (magnetometer boom): 20 ft. long (609.6cm)