"Q:" What was made by humans and is 7.3 billion miles away? "A:" Pioneer 10 -- and 1997 was the 25th anniversary [
http://quest.arc.na…] of its launch. Almost 11 light-hours distant, Pioneer 10 is presently [
http://spaceproject…PNStat.html ] about twice as far from the Sun as Pluto, and bound for interstellar space [
http://spaceproject…path.html ] at 28,000 miles per hour. The distinction of being the first human artifact to venture beyond the known planets [
http://heasarc.gsfc…] of the Solar System is just one in a long list of firsts for this spacefaring ambassador [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…], including; the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and explore the outer Solar System [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…], the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter [
http://ccf.arc.nasa…], and the first to use a planet's gravity to change [
http://www.jpl.nasa…] its course and to reach solar-system-escape velocity. Pioneer 10's mission [
http://quest.arc.na…index.html ] is nearing an end. Now exploring the distant reaches of the heliosphere [
http://earth.agu.or…] it will soon run out of sufficient electrical power to operate science instruments. However, the 570 lb. spacecraft [
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.g…] will continue to coast and in 300,000 years or so it will pass within about 3 light years of nearby star [
http://cassfos02.uc…] Ross 248. Ross 248 is a faint red dwarf just over 10 light years distant in the constellation Taurus. (Note: In 1998 Voyager 1 [
http://vraptor.jpl.…], launched 5 years later but traveling faster than Pioneer 10, became humanity's most distant spacecraft.)
Explanation
"Q:" What was made by humans and is 7.3 billion miles away? "A:" Pioneer 10 -- and 1997 was the 25th anniversary [
http://quest.arc.na…] of its launch. Almost 11 light-hours distant, Pioneer 10 is presently [
http://spaceproject…PNStat.html ] about twice as far from the Sun as Pluto, and bound for interstellar space [
http://spaceproject…path.html ] at 28,000 miles per hour. The distinction of being the first human artifact to venture beyond the known planets [
http://heasarc.gsfc…] of the Solar System is just one in a long list of firsts for this spacefaring ambassador [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…], including; the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and explore the outer Solar System [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…], the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter [
http://ccf.arc.nasa…], and the first to use a planet's gravity to change [
http://www.jpl.nasa…] its course and to reach solar-system-escape velocity. Pioneer 10's mission [
http://quest.arc.na…index.html ] is nearing an end. Now exploring the distant reaches of the heliosphere [
http://earth.agu.or…] it will soon run out of sufficient electrical power to operate science instruments. However, the 570 lb. spacecraft [
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.g…] will continue to coast and in 300,000 years or so it will pass within about 3 light years of nearby star [
http://cassfos02.uc…] Ross 248. Ross 248 is a faint red dwarf just over 10 light years distant in the constellation Taurus. (Note: In 1998 Voyager 1 [
http://vraptor.jpl.…], launched 5 years later but traveling faster than Pioneer 10, became humanity's most distant spacecraft.)
Explanation
