In terms of celestial mechanics, Mercury is a very difficult point in the solar system to reach. To prevent the Mariner 10 probe from being lost in space, it was necessary to give it a little "push" that no motor could ever do. So, NASA technicians thought of using another object: none other than the planet Venus. In fact, when a probe gets close to a celestial body, it feels the gravitational pull and accelerates. Using the computer, the problem was soon solved: if the Mariner probe passed within a certain distance of Venus, the gravitational field of the planet would act like a slingshot, sending the probe in the right direction to reach Mercury. The NASA technicians were euphoric: now, with only one probe, it was possible to "visit" no less than two planets and save millions of dollars. In reality, the push was even bigger. In refiguring the NASA calculations, an Italian astronomer, Giuseppe Colombo, discovered that the Mariner probe, after passing Mercury, would be in a very advantageous orbit: just a few course corrections were all that would be needed so that the probe would return every six months to cross the inner most planet of the solar system. There was one limitation though: solar radiation would lead to wear and tear on the delicate on-board instruments, and the probe would have to operate in a very "hot" area of space. Then, there was also the problem concerning the depletion of the fuel necessary to make course corrections. As we have seen, the mission was a real triumph and the Mariner 10 probe managed to photograph Mercury's surface during three fly-overs. Finally, completely exhausted, the probe was deactivated. The Mariner 10 probe will remain like this forever - a silent testimonial to terrestrial technology, in orbit around the Sun.
In terms of celestial mechanics, Mercury is a very difficult point in the solar system to reach. To prevent the Mariner 10 probe from being lost in space, it was necessary to give it a little "push" that no motor could ever do. So, NASA technicians thought of using another object: none other than the planet Venus. In fact, when a probe gets close to a celestial body, it feels the gravitational pull and accelerates. Using the computer, the problem was soon solved: if the Mariner probe passed within a certain distance of Venus, the gravitational field of the planet would act like a slingshot, sending the probe in the right direction to reach Mercury. The NASA technicians were euphoric: now, with only one probe, it was possible to "visit" no less than two planets and save millions of dollars. In reality, the push was even bigger. In refiguring the NASA calculations, an Italian astronomer, Giuseppe Colombo, discovered that the Mariner probe, after passing Mercury, would be in a very advantageous orbit: just a few course corrections were all that would be needed so that the probe would return every six months to cross the inner most planet of the solar system. There was one limitation though: solar radiation would lead to wear and tear on the delicate on-board instruments, and the probe would have to operate in a very "hot" area of space. Then, there was also the problem concerning the depletion of the fuel necessary to make course corrections. As we have seen, the mission was a real triumph and the Mariner 10 probe managed to photograph Mercury's surface during three fly-overs. Finally, completely exhausted, the probe was deactivated. The Mariner 10 probe will remain like this forever - a silent testimonial to terrestrial technology, in orbit around the Sun.
