| rdfs:comment | - Pioneer 10 was launched from Earth on March 3, 1972. The first Human space probe to explore the outer solar system, its primary mission was to analyze the planet Jupiter. Launched on a solar escape trajectory, it became the first man-made object to leave Sol's traditional planetary zone in 1988. As it passed through the extremes of the system, it was charged with investigating particles from the solar wind and cosmic rays. Contact with the probe continued until the final successful contact attempt on January 23, 2003. Pioneer's intended course will eventually take it to the vicinity of the Aldebaran system.
- Pioneer 10 (originally designated Pioneer F) is an American space probe, weighing kilograms ( pounds), that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter. Thereafter, Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System. This space exploration project was conducted by the NASA Ames Research Center in California, and the space probe was manufactured by TRW Inc. Radio communications were lost with Pioneer 10 on January 23, 2003, because of the loss of electric power for its radio transmitter, with the probe at a distance of (AU) from Earth.
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| abstract | - Pioneer 10 was launched from Earth on March 3, 1972. The first Human space probe to explore the outer solar system, its primary mission was to analyze the planet Jupiter. Launched on a solar escape trajectory, it became the first man-made object to leave Sol's traditional planetary zone in 1988. As it passed through the extremes of the system, it was charged with investigating particles from the solar wind and cosmic rays. Contact with the probe continued until the final successful contact attempt on January 23, 2003. Pioneer's intended course will eventually take it to the vicinity of the Aldebaran system. Though depicted as being destroyed in Klingon territory in the late 23rd century, in actuality the spacecraft's speed is so slow it will not reach Aldebaran for two million years. On its current trajectory, by 2287, Pioneer 10 should be roughly 820 AU from Earth (about 0.012 light years).
- Pioneer 10 (originally designated Pioneer F) is an American space probe, weighing kilograms ( pounds), that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter. Thereafter, Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System. This space exploration project was conducted by the NASA Ames Research Center in California, and the space probe was manufactured by TRW Inc. Pioneer 10 was assembled around a hexagonal bus with a meter (ft) diameter parabolic dish high-gain antenna, and the spacecraft was spin stabilized around the axis of the antenna. Its electric power was supplied by four radioisotope thermoelectric generators that provided a combined 155 watts at launch. It was launched on March 2, 1972, by an Atlas-Centaur expendable vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Between July 15, 1972, and February 15, 1973, it became the first spacecraft to traverse the asteroid belt. Photography of Jupiter began November 6, 1973, at a range of kilometer (mi), and a total of about 500 images were transmitted. The closest approach to the planet was on December 4, 1973, at a range of kilometer (mi). During the mission, the on-board instruments were used to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter, the solar wind, cosmic rays, and eventually the far reaches of the Solar System and heliosphere. Radio communications were lost with Pioneer 10 on January 23, 2003, because of the loss of electric power for its radio transmitter, with the probe at a distance of (AU) from Earth.
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