This is an image of Mariner 10 on its mission to Mercury.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
Mariner 10 Mission to Mercury
The Mariner 10 mission (USA) to Mercury was launched on November 3, 1973 and
arrived at Mercury on March 29, 1974. The spacecraft made three
separate passes by the planet, and obtained about 10,000 images which
covered about 57% of the planet surface. The spacecraft is currently
still orbiting the Sun, but is no longer sending data because it
used up its gas supply (used to adjust the spacecraft's position).
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