A FEW MOMENTS IN AIR HISTORY
PIONEER 10 (prototype)
( First Spacecraft to Venture Beyond the Planets )
Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to
fly by Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System.
It later became the first man-made object to cross the
orbit of Pluto, the farthest planet.
Pioneer 10 was launched on March 3, 1972. It entered the
asteroid belt on July 15 and emerged unscathed seven
months later. Pioneer 10 encountered Jupiter in early
December 1973 and sent back the first close-up color
pictures of the planet and data about its atmosphere,
magnetic fields, and radiation belts. In June 1983,
Pioneer 10 reached a distance beyond all the known
planets. Powered by Radioisotope
Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs), which can operate in
deep space far beyond the useful range of solar cells,
Pioneer 10 now transmits information about the
interstellar space environment.
Check out the Pioneer 10 web page.