On January 22, 2003, NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft beams its last data transmission back to Earth.
Pioneer 10 was NASA's first mission to the outer planets. It was the first spacecraft to fly through the asteroid belt, the first to visit Jupiter, and the first to venture beyond the outer planets. The spacecraft is currently on its way out of the solar system and has traveled more than 10 billion miles away from Earth. While it was originally intended to last just 21 months, Pioneer 10 kept collecting and transmitting data for more than 30 years before its radioisotope power supply decayed, and NASA could no longer contact it.
Pioneer 10 was NASA's first mission to the outer planets. It was the first spacecraft to fly through the asteroid belt, the first to visit Jupiter, and the first to venture beyond the outer planets. The spacecraft is currently on its way out of the solar system and has traveled more than 10 billion miles away from Earth. While it was originally intended to last just 21 months, Pioneer 10 kept collecting and transmitting data for more than 30 years before its radioisotope power supply decayed, and NASA could no longer contact it.
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00:00On this day in space.
00:03On January 22nd, 2003, NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft
00:07beamed its last data transmission back to Earth.
00:10Pioneer 10 was NASA's first mission to the outer planets.
00:13It was the first spacecraft to fly through the asteroid belt,
00:16the first to visit Jupiter, and the first to venture beyond the outer planets.
00:20The spacecraft is currently on its way out of the solar system
00:23and has traveled more than 10 billion miles away from Earth.
00:26While it was originally intended to last just 21 months,
00:29Pioneer 10 kept collecting and transmitting data for more than 30 years
00:33before its radioisotope power supply decayed and NASA could no longer contact it.
00:37And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:40♪