NSSDCA ID: 1973-085A-01
Mission Name: Mariner 10The objectives of this experiment were to photograph the surfaces (upper atmosphere in the case of Venus) of the planets Venus and Mercury. For Venus, specific objectives were to investigate the time-dependent properties of the UV clouds, and to obtain high-resolution imagery of the main clouds. For Mercury, specific objectives were to map its major physiographic provinces, determine its spin axis orientation, establish a cartographic coordinate system, and search for Mercurian satellites. The equipment consisted of two spherical (150 mm diameter) Cassegrain telescopes with eight filters, each attached to a GEC 1 inch vidicon tube camera (1500 mm focal length and 0.5 degree field of view) for narrow-angle photography. An auxiliary optical system mounted on each camera provided wide-angle (62 mm focal length, 11 x 14 degree field of view) photography by moving a mirror on a filter wheel to a position in the optical path. Exposure time ranged from 3 ms to 12 s, and each camera took a picture every 42 s. The TV picture consisted of 700 scan lines with 832 picture elements per line, which were digitally coded into eight-bit words for transmission. There were eight filter wheel positions: (1) wide-angle image relay mirror; (2) blue bandpass; (3) UV polarizing; (4) minus UV high pass; (5) clear; (6) UV bandpass; (7) defocusing lens (for calibration); and, (8) yellow bandpass. About 7000 photographs were obtained of Venus and Mercury, with a maximum resolution of 100 m for Mercury. Three photographic passes, separated by 6 month intervals, were made for Mercury.
Mass: 43.9 kg
Power (avg): 30.9 W
Bit rate (avg): 22 kbps
Questions and comments about this experiment can be directed to: Dr. David R. Williams
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Bruce C. Murray | General Contact | California Institute of Technology | |
Dr. Bruce C. Murray | Team Leader | California Institute of Technology | |
Dr. Michael J.S. Belton | Team Member | Kitt Peak National Observatory | belton@jupiter.noao.edu |
Dr. Donald E. Gault | Team Member | NASA Ames Research Center | |
Dr. Bruce W. Hapke | Team Member | University of Pittsburgh | hapke@pitt.edu |
Dr. Verner E. Suomi | Team Member | University of Wisconsin-Madison | |
Dr. Gerard P. Kuiper | Team Member | University of Arizona | |
Dr. Newell J. Trask, Jr. | Team Member | US Geological Survey | |
Mr. Merton E. Davies | Team Member | Rand Corporation | |
Prof. Brian T. O'Leary | Team Member | Princeton University | oleary@maui.net |
Dr. Robert G. Strom | Team Member | University of Arizona | rstrom@pirl.lpl.arizona.edu |
Mr. G. Edward Danielson, Jr. | Team Member | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | danielso@mailhost4.jpl.nasa.gov |