Why Is Mercury The Closest But The Hardest To Reach?
587How is it possible that Mercury is the closest and the hardest to reach?
Here’s why it's so difficult to get to Mercury!
It was a thrilling day on November 3, 1973, filled with excitement for a group of NASA engineers. They were eagerly awaiting the launch of Mariner 10, an extraordinary robotic space probe that would have accomplished what was long thought to be forbidden: reaching Mercury, the closest planet to the scorching Sun.
The New York Times perfectly described the mission's ambitious goals:
“Mariner 10 will take the 1,100‐pound spacecraft by the cloud‐shrouded Venus on its way to Mercury, the first two‐planet mission ever attempted. It will also be the first attempt to use the gravity of one planet, Venus, as a source of energy to reach another planet.”
Yes, Mercury posed a daunting challenge. But NASA's brilliant minds, as you'll see in this captivating video, triumphed over the odds. They skillfully guided Mariner 10 not once, not twice, but three times past Mercury, setting a groundbreaking record in the process. The last flyby on March 16, 1975, was especially remarkable when they brought the spacecraft within a mere 203 miles (327 kilometers) of the planet's surface.
From that moment on, the quest to reach the innermost planet of the Solar System would never be the same. NASA paved the way for future missions, leaving an indelible mark on space exploration history.
The Speed Problem
Mercury, the mysterious inner planet of our solar system, remains largely unexplored. Can you believe that only two missions, Mariner 10 and MESSENGER, have dared to get up close and personal with this enigma? But hold onto your seats because there's another mission in the pipeline. Its name is Bepi Colombo, and it is set to reach Mercury by December 2025. Cue the excitement!
The Temperature Problem
Anyway, let’s get back to our problems.
Our probe will in general face numerous challenges before it can safely reach Mercury, and speed is just one of them.
The Communication Delay Problem
Mercury, the closest planet to Earth, is actually quite far away. We're talking about a whopping 48 million miles (77 million km) distance!
The Endurance Problem
But even if you manage to get everything planned, there's still another problem to deal with. The journey to Mercury is no picnic. Depending on the spacecraft's propulsion system and trajectory, it can take several months or even years to reach Mercury.
A Word on Bepi Colombo
As we approach the end of this video, I would like to talk about the last of the three missions humans ever sent to Mercury. Bepi Colombo takes its name from the famous Mathematician we mentioned earlier, whose theories played a crucial role in the exploration of Mercury.
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Credits: Ron Miller, Mark A. Garlick / MarkGarlick.com ,Elon Musk/SpaceX/ Flickr
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00:00 Intro
1:45 The speed problem
5:12 The temperature problem
7:38 The communication delay problem
8:30 The endurance problem
9:30 bepicolombo mission
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