This is a mosaic of images taken of Mercury taken from 125,000 miles away.
The tiny, brightly rayed crater (just below center top) was the first
recognizable feature on the planet's surface and was named in memory of
astronomer Gerard Kuiper, a Mariner 10 team member. The Mariner 10 spacecraft
was launched in 1974. The spacecraft took images of Venus in February 1974 on
the way to three encounters with Mercury in March and September 1974 and March
1975. The spacecraft took more than 7,000 images of Mercury, Venus, the Earth
and the Moon during its mission. The Mariner 10 Mission was managed by the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science in Washington, D.C.
