This Day In Space April 6, 1973


By KD Martin

In 1969, a group of astronauts change the world.  They ride the biggest rocket ever built to the Moon.  It's the culmination of 10 years of space pioneering, and the foundation of four decades of exploring worlds beyond our own.  Join us for the ongoing story of our greatest adventure.

© 2009 John C. Dvorak Cage Match

Pioneer 11  Courtesy NASA   ↔

This Day In Space, April 6, 1973

Pioneer 11 was launched from Cape Canaveral by an Atlas rocket.

Pioneers 10 and 11 were the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter (Pioneer 10 and 11) and Saturn (Pioneer 11 only). Instruments aboard the two craft studied Jupiter and Saturn's atmospheres, magnetic fields, moons, and rings, as well as the interplanetary magnetic and dust particle environment, the solar wind, and cosmic rays. Following their planetary encounters, the vehicles continued on escape trajectories from the solar system. Both spacecraft carry a plaque with a drawing depicting a man, woman, and the location of the sun and earth in the galaxy as greetings to any extraterrestrial who may find the vehicles.

Jupiter flyby December 1974; Saturn flyby September 1979. Solar system escape trajectory. Pioneer 11 was the second mission to investigate Jupiter and the outer solar system and the first to explore the planet Saturn and its main rings. Pioneer 11, like Pioneer 10, used Jupiter's gravitational field to alter its trajectory radically. It passed close to Saturn and then it followed an escape trajectory from the solar system.


Jupiter from Pioneer 11


Courtesy Mark Wade and NASA

What it needs now is an explanation for the Pioneer Anomaly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_anomaly

Anyone up for giving it a try? I know my limitations and this is beyond my capabilities.

What it needs now is an explanation for the Pioneer Anomaly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_anomaly

Anyone up for giving it a try? I know my limitations and this is beyond my capabilities.

Smoke came out after reading Initial... despite the page views I do enjoy the series... I guess pinups are more important...?

Interesting. I was unaware of the flyby anomaly.