Keywords: Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to make use of an interplanetary gravitational slingshot maneuver, using Venus to bend its flight path and bring its perihelion repeatedly down to the level of Mercury's orbit. The spacecraft flew past Mercury three times. Illustration from 1973. (Credit: NASA/JPL/Ken Hodges) Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to make use of an interplanetary gravitational slingshot maneuver, using Venus to bend its flight path and bring its perihelion repeatedly down to the level of Mercury's orbit. The spacecraft flew past Mercury three times. Illustration from 1973. (Credit: NASA/JPL/Ken Hodges) |