Mariner 10 Program

NASA’s Mariner 10 program sent the first spacecraft to Mercury and the first mission to explore two planets during one mission. Launched on 3 November 1973, Mariner 10 used Venus for the first interplanetary gravity assist, flew by Mercury three times in 1974 and 1975, and revealed the planet’s cratered surface, magnetic field, and interior characteristics before its mission ended on 24 March 1975.

Identity

Aliases: Mariner 10Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973Mariner-JMariner 73J
Domains: spaceflight
Name: Mariner 10 Program
Status: completed
Types: explorationscienceresearchoperations

Details

Description: NASA’s Mariner 10 program sent the first spacecraft to Mercury and the first mission to explore two planets during one mission. Launched on 3 November 1973, Mariner 10 used Venus for the first interplanetary gravity assist, flew by Mercury three times in 1974 and 1975, and revealed the planet’s cratered surface, magnetic field, and interior characteristics before its mission ended on 24 March 1975.
End Date: 1975-03-24
Leads
Parent Program
Participants
Start Date: 1973-11-03

Assets & Meta

Creation Time: August 13, 2026 at 14:30:52 UTC
Updated Time: August 13, 2026 at 14:30:52 UTC

Other

Official Urls: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mariner-10/https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/mariner-10-first-mission-use-an-interplanetary-gravity-assist/https://www.nasa.gov/history/45-years-ago-mariner-10-off-to-venus-and-mercury/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mariner-10/