Editing MESSENGER (section)

===Previous missions===
In 1973, [[Mariner 10]] was launched by NASA to make multiple flyby encounters of Venus and Mercury. Mariner 10 provided the first detailed data of Mercury, mapping 40–45% of the surface.<ref name="USATMessenger">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-08-16-mercury-may-shrink_x.htm |title=MESSENGER to test theory of shrinking Mercury|newspaper=USA Today| first=Tariq | last= Malik|date=August 16, 2004 |access-date=May 23, 2012}}</ref> Mariner 10's final flyby of Mercury occurred on March 16, 1975. No subsequent close-range observations of the planet would take place for more than 30 years.