What did the Pioneer 10 discover?
During the passage by Jupiter, Pioneer 10 obtained the first close-up images of the planet, charted Jupiter’s intense radiation belts, located the planet’s magnetic field, and discovered that Jupiter is predominantly a liquid planet.
Where is Pioneer 10 now?
Pioneer 10 is currently in the direction of the constellation Taurus.
What did Pioneer 11 discover?
Pioneer 11 detected Saturn’s bow shock on Aug. 31, 1979, about 932,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) out from the planet, thus providing the first conclusive evidence of the existence of Saturn’s magnetic field. The spacecraft crossed the planet’s ring plane beyond the outer ring at 14:36 UT Sept.
Is Pioneer further than Voyager?
Voyager 1 is the most distant spacecraft, about 17.5 billion kilometers (10.9 billion miles) away from the sun at a northward angle. Pioneer 10, the next most distant, is about 15.4 billion kilometers (9.6 billion miles) away from the sun on the opposite side of the solar system.
Is Pioneer 11 still in space?
Pioneer 11 is still sailing away from Earth, even though its transmission was received on September 30, 1995. As far as scientists know, the spacecraft is still moving outward – in the general direction of the center of our Milky Way galaxy – that is, generally in the direction of our constellation Sagittarius.
What’s new at NASA in 2012?
NASA will kick 2012 off with a major mission arrival when two unmanned probes arrive at the moon. The two Grail moon probes will arrive in lunar orbit on New Year’s Day on a $496 million mission to map the moon’s gravity. The mission will last at least three months.
What happened in 2012 at the International Space Station?
Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams works at the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station, August 2012. (NASA) View large image This past year has been a busy one for the International Space Station.
What’s happening to the Space Station and other planetary probes?
In the meantime, NASA’s Opportunity rover on Mars continues to perform while the far-flung Voyager probes continue on their way out of our solar system. Many other planetary probes will continue plugging along to advance scientists’ understanding the solar system. NEXT: Space Station Gets New Additions?
When will NASA’s Curiosity rover land on Mars?
NASA’s huge new rover Curiosity, the centerpiece of the space agency’s $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission, is expected to land on the Red Planet Aug. 6, 2012 in what is one of the most anticipated missions of the year.