The Pioneer 10 spacecraft holds a unique place in space history. It has a series of firsts to its credit unmatched by any other spacecraft in the space era. Launched on March 3, 1972, its mission was to study the asteroid belt and Jupiter. Initially planned for only 21 months of operations (which is the time it would take to reach Jupiter and study it) the Pioneer continued to send signals to earth for 31 years!
Among its remarkable feats is the speed it achieved following lift-off. Pioneer 10 achieved a breakaway speed of 52,142.7 kmph, making it the fastest human-made object ever to leave the Earth. It passed the moon in 11 hours and crossed Mars’ orbit in 12 weeks. When it reached Jupiter on December 3, 1973, it was moving at an incredible speed of 1, 31,966 kmph.
It became the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt on July 15, 1972, which was described as a ‘spectacular achievement’ by NASA. Upon reaching Jupiter, Pioneer 10 sent back the first direct observations and close-up images of the solar system’s largest planet. It became the first human-made object to leave the central Solar System on June 13, 1983.
It continued to send back valuable data until 1997. The spacecraft’s last transmission was on April 27, 2002 and NASA’s Deep Space Network received a final, faint signal January 23, 2003.
According to NASA engineers its radioisotope power source had decayed, leaving it without the required power to send additional transmissions to Earth.
Even though we lost contact with Pioneer 10, it continues its endless journey through interstellar space. It’s headed in the general direction of Aldebaran, the brightest star in constellation Taurus.
According to NASA, it will take about 2 million years for Pioneer 10 to reach Taurus.
Should an advanced alien civilization find the Pioneer 10 spacecraft, it carries a plaque providing information about its creators and where it originated. This plaque also pinpoints its year of launch.
Picture Credit : Google
