← Mission archivePlanetary science
Pioneer 10
CompletedNASA
Image: NASA · No restrictions · Wikimedia Commons
- Launched
- 3 Mar 197201:49:04 UTC
- Last contact
- 23 Jan 2003
- End declared
- 31 Mar 1997
- Duration
- 30 years 10 months
The first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and fly past Jupiter, and the first sent on a path out of the Solar System.
Milestones
Swipe the timeline to see it all, and tap an event to open it.
Launch3 Mar 1972Jupiter flyby3 Dec 1973Crosses Neptune's orbit13 Jun 1983Science mission ends31 Mar 1997Last signal23 Jan 2003
Spacecraft
Spin-stabilised probe with a 2.7 m dish antenna and four radioisotope generators, carrying a plaque for any finders.
- Launch mass
- 270 kg
- Dry mass
- 243 kg
- Size
- 2.9 m × 2.7 m
- Power
- Radioisotope
- Last contact
- 23 Jan 2003
- End declared
- 31 Mar 1997
- Designator
- 1972-012A
Mission details from science.nasa.gov.
.jpg){kind=link}