1. The Terrestrial Planets

2. Mercury Stats Diameter0.38D E Rotation Period 59 days Orbital Period 88 days Distance from Sun0.387AU Orbit Eccentricity/Tilt 0.20 / 0 degrees Temperature-183C to +430C Atmospherenone Gravity0.376g Moonsnone Visits1 Mariner 10

3. Mercury's Interior Exceptionally large Iron core for its size => Weak Magnetic Field Gravity too low and temperature to great to sustain an atmosphere Rotates three times in exactly two solar orbits – 3:2 Spin-Orbit Resonance

4. Reached Mercury 29 th March 1974 Mariner 10

5. To this day there has only been one mission to Mercury Mercury Mosaic

6. Venus Stats Diameter0.95D E Rotation Period 243 days Orbital Period 228 days Distance from Sun0.723AU Orbit Eccentricity/Tilt 0.01 / 178 degrees Temperature+470C AtmosphereCO 2 Gravity0.903g Moonsnone Visits>20 Mariner 2, Venera 7 9 & 10, Magellan

7. Venus Venus is in a 3:2 tidal resonance with it's “sister” planet the Earth. 178 degree tilt means it's rotating backwards – i.e. retrograde. No magnetic field. Thick carbon dioxide atmosphere with sulphuric acid clouds moving at high speed. Atmospheric pressure is 90x that of Earth. The greenhouse effect makes Venus the hottest planet in the solar system.

8. 27 th August 1962, Mariner 2 – the first interplanetary craft flies to Venus

9. Mariner 10 – Fly-by image of Venus' Clouds Venus as viewed by an amateur on Earth

10. Venus from Galileo (True Colour!)

11. Venera 9 and Venera 10 images The first images from the surface of another planet

13. Image by Magellan and Arecibo