One major goal of the mercury program was to send a manned spacecraft into orbit and to

bring it home safely.

land it on the moon.

go on extended flights.

find a way to dock in space.

Bring it home safely.

Project Mercury was the United States' first man-in-space program which was initiated in 1958 and completed in 1963. The objectives of the program included:

We can see the third one as the option present in the required question so it is the correct one.

Correct answer is A: Bring it home safely.

Explanation:

The Mercury program was the space program that was initiated by the United States under the control of the U.S Air Force in 1958 and that lasted until 1963. This program had two goals, one evident and stated, and one understated. The stated and evident goal of Mercury, was to send a manned spaceflight into the Earth´s orbit and bring it back, safely. The second, and understated goal of the program, however, was to beat the Russians in what became known as the Space Race. This program was placed later on into the control of NASA, the civilian agency that was created specifically to remove control of the space program from the military.