Pioneer 10

Spacecraft· NASAinactive

Pioneer 10 — first spacecraft through the asteroid belt and past Jupiter; contact lost in 2003.

Open in 3D viewSee Pioneer 10 in the live, interactive 3D map

Key facts

Current speed

11.9 km/s

Distance from Sun

142 AU

Status

Completed

Launched

1972

Mission & specifications

Mission

Operator: NASA
Launched: March 3, 1972
Status: Completed

Trajectory

Current speed: 11.9 km/s
Distance from the Sun: 142 AU
Distance from Earth: 142 AU

Mission

Pioneer 10 was a trailblazer in the most literal sense — the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and the first to fly past Jupiter. Launched on 2 March 1972, it reached Jupiter in December 1973, passing about 130,000 km above the cloud tops. It returned the first close-up images of the giant planet, measured its lethal radiation belts (which nearly swamped its instruments), and used Jupiter's immense gravity to fling itself onto a trajectory out of the Solar System. Pioneer 10 proved the asteroid belt could be crossed safely and that a spacecraft could survive Jupiter's radiation — clearing the path for the Voyagers and Galileo. It carried a famous gold plaque, designed by Carl Sagan and Frank Drake, engraving a man and a woman and a map to Earth, in case the probe is ever found by another civilisation. After its planetary work, Pioneer 10 continued outward, returning data on the solar wind and cosmic rays from the outer Solar System for three decades. The last faint signal was received on 23 January 2003, from over 12 billion km away. It now coasts silently toward the star Aldebaran, which it will pass in about two million years.

1972Launch toward JupiterLaunch
An Atlas-Centaur sends Pioneer 10 on the first mission to the outer Solar System.
1972Enters the asteroid beltMilestone
First spacecraft to attempt the main belt; it emerges unscathed in early 1973.
1973Jupiter flybyFlyby
Returns the first close-up images of Jupiter, survives intense radiation, and gains an escape trajectory.
1983Crosses Neptune's orbitMilestone
Becomes the first human-made object to travel beyond the orbit of the outermost planet.
2003Final signalMission end
Last contact, from over 12 billion km away; the probe coasts on toward the star Aldebaran.

Images

PIONEER F (PIONEER-10) SPACECRAFT AT CAPE KENNEDY BEING READIED FOR MISSION (SHOWS THE POSITION OF THE PIONEER INTERSTALLER PLAQUE) — NASA/ARC · NASA Image Library

PIONEER 10 SPACECRAFT FINAL ASSEMBLY AT TRW (TRW SYSTEMS GROUP, REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA DESIGNED AND FABRICATED THE PIONEER SPACECRAFT) — TRW · NASA Image Library

Pioneer F (Pioneer-10) spacecraft delivered to NASA at Cape Kennedy from TRW — NASA/ARC · NASA Image Library

Pioneer-10 interstellar plaque positioned on spacecraft — TRW · NASA Image Library

Artist: Fornalski Pioneer Spacecraft Composite 'The Pioneer Family' Probes 6-9, 10, 11 and Venus Orbiter and Multiprobe or Bus (12-13) — NASA/ARC · NASA Image Library

Pioneer 10 artwork — NASA/ARC · NASA Image Library

Pioneer F/G Plaque: Pioneer 10 the first spacecraft to leave our solar system carries a message to other worlds — NASA/ARC · NASA Image Library

Artist: Rick Guidice Pioneer 10 Crosses the Asteriod Belt: If spacecraft are to visit the outer Solar System, they must cross the asteroid belt between Mars and Jpiter — NASA/ARC · NASA Image Library

Images from open archives · credit shown per image