Forty-three years ago tomorrow, a special event took place at the largest planet in our solar system – NASA’s Pioneer 10 spacecraft became the first ever to fly past Jupiter! It occurred on December 3, 1973.
Check out the view as Pioneer 10 approached Jupiter and flew away from it –
Pioneer 10 Jupiter flyby. Image Credit: NASA
Pioneer 10 was the trailblazer for so many milestones in space exploration.
The spacecraft was the first to pass beyond the orbit of Mars, to fly through the asteroid belt, use all-nuclear electric power, fly past Pluto’s orbit, and to be placed on a trajectory to take it outside of the solar system and into interstellar space.
Pioneer 10. Image Credit: NASA
The spacecraft sent its last signal to Earth in 2003. It operated for more than 30 years, and will continue heading in the direction of the red star Alderbaran, which is about 68 light years away. It will take more than 2 million years to reach the star!
Learn more about the solar system at NASA.gov.