Space age mariner8/3/2023 Just two days following Mercury I, while farencounter television pictures were still being taken, another failuresuddenly and alarmingly struck the already crippled spacecraft. Figure 8-2 shows the aim points for the three Mercuryencounters. Targeting for the second encounter was chosen such that a thirdencounter could also be achieved in order that the important questionof the nature of Mercury's unexpected magnetic field ( i.e., whetherit is intrinsic to the planet or induced by the solar wind) could beanswered. Thenscientists expected to be able to make a detailed and accurate map ofalmost one complete hemisphere of this innermost of the planets to alevel of detail equal to that on maps of the Moon before the spaceage. Exactly the same face ofMercury would be illuminated by the Sun, but the daylight pass wouldallow photographs to be obtained that would tie together the twohalves of Mercury seen at the first pass ( Fig. The TV optics design is suchthat the altitude provided substantial expansion of the photographyof Mercury at 1 km (5/8 mi) resolution. With suitable correctionsMariner 10 could again pass by Mercury, this time at 50,000 km(31,000 mi) above the daylight side. FOLLOWING THE FIRSTencounter with Mercury, several more trajectory corrections wereneeded to direct the spacecraft into an orbit that would permit areturn to Mercury on September 21, 1974.
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