Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Collection
Creator:
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Description:
This picture of Venus was captured by the Mariner 10 spacecraft during its approach to the planet in early 1974. Taken with the spacecraft's imaging system using an ultraviolet filter, the picture has been color enhanced to simulate Venus's natural color as the human eye would see it. Although the planet closest to the Earth in size and distance from the Sun, Venus is perpetually blanketed by a thick veil of clouds high in carbon dioxide; its surface temperature approaches 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Launched on November 3, 1973 atop an Atlas Centaur rocket, Mariner 10 flew by Venus on February 5, 1974. It then went on to an encounter with Mercury, thus becoming the first spacecraft ever to fly by more than one planet. Mariner 10 was designed, built and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Identifier:
P-14461
Contributor:
JPL Archives
What:
Venus
What:
Mariner 10
What:
Earth
What:
Atlas
What:
Centaur
Where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)