Pioneer 10 (originally designated Pioneer F) is a NASA space probe launched in 1972 that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter. Pioneer 10 became the first of five artificial objects to achieve the escape velocity needed to leave the Solar System. This space exploration project was conducted by the NASA Ames Research Center in California. The space probe was manufactured by TRW In. Mission typePlanetary / Heliosphere explorationOperator / COSPAR IDSATCAT no.5860How Pioneer 10 Changed Space ExplorationIn 1972, NASA launched a historic mission to the outer planets, named Pioneer 10. It was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and the first to visit Jupiter.. In the 1960s, American aerospace engineer of the NASA conceived of a mission, known as the, that would exploit a rare alignment of the outer planets of the Sola. . Pioneer 10 was launched on March 3, 1972, at 01:49:00 UTC (8:49 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 2) by the from in Florida, aboard an. . On July 18, 2023, overtook Pioneer 10, making Pioneer 10 the third farthest spacecraft from the Sun after Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. As of July 2025, the probe is estimated to be 139.7 (20.9. . Because it was strongly advocated by, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 carry a 152 by 229 mm (6.0 by 9.0 in) gold-anodized aluminum in case either spacecraft is ever found by intelligent life-forms from.
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