When were the first and last visits to Mercury?

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When were the first and last visits to Mercury?

2007-08-24 07:27:12 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space

2 answers

Mariner 10 flew past Mercury three times in 1974 and 1975. No other space craft has ever gone there, but the new Messenger space craft is on the way there now. When it arrives in 2011, it will be the second space craft to ever go to Mercury and the first to ever enter orbit around the planet Mercury.

2007-08-24 07:50:54 · answer #1 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋

The first (and so far only) trips to Mercury were in the early 70's by a Mariner spacecraft. MESSENGER should do it's first fly-by in about 6 months, followed by an orbital insertion in... 3 years? 4?

2007-08-24 08:15:21 · answer #2 · answered by quantumclaustrophobe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋