Collection:
NASA Great Images in Nasa Collection Collection NASA Great Images in Nasa Collection Collection
Title:
Pioneer 10 Trajectory Title Pioneer 10 Trajectory Title
Full Description:
This image, drawn in 1970, is an artist's rendering of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft trajectory, with the planets labeled and a list of the instruments that were intended to be flown. Before the use of computer animation, artists were hired by JPL and NASA to depict a spacecraft in flight, for use as a visual aid to promote the project during development. Pioneer 10 was managed by NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. The Pioneer F spacecraft, as it was known before launch, was designed and built by TRW Systems Group, Inc. JPL developed three instruments that flew on the spacecraft: Magnetic Fields, S-Band Occultation, and Celestial Mechanics; as well as running the Deep Space Network which provided tracking and data system support. Caltech was responsible for the Jovian Infrared Thermal Structure experiment. Pioneer was very successful, crossing the orbit of Mars and the asteroid belt beyond it; encountering, studying, and photographing Jupiter; then crossing the orbits of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It left the solar system in 1983 and has been contacted several times in the past few years. As of July 2001, the spacecraft was still able to send a return signal to Earth. At Jupiter, the experiments of Pioneer were used to examine the environmental and atmospheric characteristics of the giant planet. Pioneer was also the vital precursor to all future flights to the outer solar system. It determined that a spacecraft could safely fly through the asteroid belt. It also measured the intensity of Jupiter's radiation belt so that NASA could design future Jupiter (and other outer planets) orbiters. Full_Description This image, drawn in 1970, is an artist's rendering of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft trajectory, with the planets labeled and a list of the instruments that were intended to be flown. Before the use of computer animation, artists were hired by JPL and NASA to depict a spacecraft in flight, for use as a visual aid to promote the project during development. Pioneer 10 was managed by NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. The Pioneer F spacecraft, as it was known before launch, was designed and built by TRW Systems Group, Inc. JPL developed three instruments that flew on the spacecraft: Magnetic Fields, S-Band Occultation, and Celestial Mechanics; as well as running the Deep Space Network which provided tracking and data system support. Caltech was responsible for the Jovian Infrared Thermal Structure experiment. Pioneer was very successful, crossing the orbit of Mars and the asteroid belt beyond it; encountering, studying, and photographing Jupiter; then crossing the orbits of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It left the solar system in 1983 and has been contacted several times in the past few years. As of July 2001, the spacecraft was still able to send a return signal to Earth. At Jupiter, the experiments of Pioneer were used to examine the environmental and atmospheric characteristics of the giant planet. Pioneer was also the vital precursor to all future flights to the outer solar system. It determined that a spacecraft could safely fly through the asteroid belt. It also measured the intensity of Jupiter's radiation belt so that NASA could design future Jupiter (and other outer planets) orbiters. Full Description
Date:
03/07/1972 Date 03/07/1972 Date
NASA Center:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA_Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA Center
Subject Category:
Space Probes Subject_Category Space Probes Subject Category
Keywords:
Pioneer Keywords Pioneer Keywords
Keywords:
Jupiter Keywords Jupiter Keywords
Keywords:
Unmanned Keywords Unmanned Keywords
Keywords:
P-14197Bc Keywords P-14197Bc Keywords
Audience:
General Public Audience General Public Audience
facet_what:
Earth facet_what Earth facet_what
facet_what:
Saturn facet_what Saturn facet_what
facet_what:
Mars facet_what Mars facet_what
facet_what:
Jupiter facet_what Jupiter facet_what
facet_what:
Pioneer 10 facet_what Pioneer 10 facet_what
facet_what:
Neptune facet_what Neptune facet_what
facet_what:
Uranus facet_what Uranus facet_what
facet_what:
Deep Space Network facet_what Deep Space Network facet_what
facet_where:
Saturn facet_where Saturn facet_where
facet_where:
California facet_where California facet_where
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory facet_where Jet Propulsion Laboratory facet_where
facet_where:
Mars facet_where Mars facet_where
facet_where:
Jupiter facet_where Jupiter facet_where
facet_where:
Uranus facet_where Uranus facet_where
facet_where:
Ames Research Center (ARC) facet_where Ames Research Center (ARC) facet_where
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) facet_where Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) facet_where
facet_when:
1970 facet_when 1970 facet_when
facet_when:
1983 facet_when 1983 facet_when
facet_when:
July 2001 facet_when July 2001 facet_when
facet_when:
03-07-1972 facet_when 03-07-1972 facet_when
facet_when_year:
1970 facet_when_year 1970 facet_when_year
facet_when_year:
1972 facet_when_year 1972 facet_when_year
facet_when_year:
2001 facet_when_year 2001 facet_when_year
facet_when_year:
1983 facet_when_year 1983 facet_when_year
Image #:
PioneerFlyby Image_# PioneerFlyby Image #
original_url:
http://grin.hq.nasa… original_url http://grin.hq.nasa… original_url
UID:
SPD-GRIN-GPN-2003-00 066 UID SPD-GRIN-GPN-2003-00 066 UID
Center:
JPL Center JPL Center
Center Number:
PioneerFlyby Center_Number PioneerFlyby Center Number
GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2003-00066 GRIN_DataBase_Number GPN-2003-00066 GRIN DataBase Number
Creator-Photographer:
NASA Creator-Photographer NASA Creator-Photographer
Original Source:
NASA Original_Source NASA Original Source

Pioneer 10 Trajectory

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Pioneer 10 Trajectory