Mercury exploration timeline

1973 – Launch of Mariner 10 (NASA mission)

1974 – Mariner 10 makes two flybys of Mercury

1975 – Third and final Mariner 10 flyby

2004 – Launch of MESSENGER (NASA mission)

2008 – MESSENGER makes two flybys of Mercury

2009 – Third MESSENGER flyby

2011 – MESSENGER enters Mercury orbit

2012 – Planned completion of MESSENGER mission

2015 – MESSENGER finally allowed to crash after four years in orbit

2018 – Launch of BepiColombo (ESA/JAXA mission)

2025 – BepiColombo enters Mercury orbit