The Mariner 10 Pictures of Mercury' An Overview

Mariner Venus / Mercury 1973 Status Bulletin

Mariner 10 stereo image coverage of Mercury

A computer search was performed on all useable Mariner 10 images of Mercury for which refined camera positions and orientations are available. Over 2000 valid stereo pairs have been found. The results of this search allowed us to construct a map illustrating the available stereo coverage and the corresponding stereo height accuracy across the surface of Mercury. Examples are given to illustrate...

Identification of mercurian volcanism: Resolution effects and implications for MESSENGER

The possibility of volcanism on Mercury has been a topic of discussion since Mariner 10 returned images of half the planet's surface showing widespread plains material. These plains could be volcanic or lobate crater ejecta. An assessment of the mechanics of the ascent and eruption of magma shows that it is possible to have widespread volcanism, no volcanism on the surface whatsoever, or some r...

On the space environment of Mercury

Since the rapid flybys of Mariner 10 in the late seventies, Mercury is known to have an intrinsic magnetic field that dominates the interactions of Mercury with its space environment. Even though important aspects of this interaction have been probed by the Mariner 10 instruments, crucial aspects remain unknown and unexplored. In particular there are fundamental uncertainties concerning the ion...

Determination of Parameters Related to the Interior of Mercury

--Bounds on (C-A)/C for Mercury as a function of the uncertainty in the value of the obliquity are determined. The high precision of 1 of arc which is required for reasonable bounds on (C-A)/C cannot be obtained by either earth based observations or the television imagery of the Mariner 73 flyby. Among other methods discussed, one involving both landers and orbiters could determine unam2 biguou...