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Pioneer Probes

Pioneer 10 and 11 blazed the trail to the outer solar system during the 1970s. Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to visit any planet beyond the asteroid belt when it flew past Jupiter on December 3, 1973. Pioneer 10 found that Jupiter’s interior is hotter than previously thought, discovered that the planet’s radiation belts are strong enough to kill a human being, and discovered that Jupiter’s moon Io is embedded in a giant cloud of hydrogen that encircles Jupiter. Pioneer 11 flew past Jupiter a year later, then in 1979 became the first craft to encounter Saturn.

Resources

Saturn's rings

Saturn February 10, 2016

Radio Programs

Danger Zone Surviving the danger zone July 15, 2022

Pulsar Navigation Navigating by dead stars February 13, 2020

First to Saturn The first visit to Saturn August 31, 2019

Pioneer 9 Sailing into the solar wind November 8, 2018