Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, remain the most mysterious of theSolar System's inner planets.Hiding in the Sun's glare it i adifficult target for Earth bound observers.The only spacecraft t explore Mercuryclose-up was Mariner 10 whichexecuted thre flybys of Mercuryin 1974 and 1975, surveying approximately 45percent of its surface Mariner10 deftly manuevered tophotograph part of the sunlithemisphere during each approach, passed behind the planet,and continued to image the sun-facing side as the spacecraft receded.Its highest resolutio photographs recorded featuresapproximately a mile across.A reprocessin of theMariner 10 data has resulted in this dramatic mosaic. Like the Earth's Moon, Mercury's surfaceshows the scars of impact cratering -the smooth vertical band and patches visible above represent regionswhere no image information is available.
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