Mariner 10 stereo image coverage of Mercury A. C. Cook Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. M. S. Robinson Department of Geological Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois Abstract. A computer search was performed on all useable Mariner 10 images of That’s why we make sure Mercury dealers are the best equipped to sell and service our products. Mariner 10 was the seventh successful launch in the Mariner series and the first spacecraft to use the gravitational pull of one planet (Venus) to reach another (Mercury). And with thousands of dealers around the globe, you can rest assured we’re always close … It was also the first probe to visit two planets. When you make the best marine products in the world, you want the best dealers behind them. Launched on November 3, 1973, it reached Venus on February 5, 1974. Mariner 10 Mercury approach and departure sequence Mariner 10's view of Mercury as it approached and receded from the planet. If you look at the images closely, you will see a small amount of rotation of the planet through the flyby.