50 years ago, the first probe to visit Mercury launched
Excerpt from the November 10, 1973 issue of Science News
Mariner 10 flew by Mercury three times from 1974 to 1975. The NASA spacecraft encountered a cratered, moonlike terrain as it mapped the planet’s surface (a photomosaic of the southern hemisphere shown).
JPL-Caltech/NASA
Off to Mercury with a cold glance — Science News, November 10, 1973
Mercury ho! Mariner 10 is on its way.