This is an image of Mariner 10 on its mission to Mercury.
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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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