SOL SYSTEM / SPACE PROBE DOSSIER

Pioneer 10

Pioneer 10 crossed the asteroid belt and opened the way to Jupiter. Its radio has fallen silent, but the spacecraft continues along its escape trajectory.

CONTACT ENDED · 2003

Calculated position ·

Space probes ↗

Spacecraft view ↗

01
Artist’s illustration of Pioneer 10
SPACE PROBEARTIST’S IMPRESSION

Distance from home ↗

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DISTANCE FROM SOL141.85 AU

About 21.22 billion kilometres from the Sun.

Calculated position · 20 Sep 2026

Signal & speed ↗

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SPEED RELATIVE TO THE SUN11.8 km/s

Travelling at 11.8 km/s relative to the Sun.

Contact ended · 2003

Mission field log ↗

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  1. 1972Launch
  2. 1973Jupiter flyby
  3. 1997Routine operations end
  4. 2003Last signal

A message from Earth ↗

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The Pioneer plaque

An engraved greeting carried beyond the planets.

Sources & image notes ↗

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MISSION REFERENCESNASA / JPL

Mission history, spacecraft design and the dated position used on the map.

Illustration, not a mission photograph.

Mission scenes ↗

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An imagined departure from Earth. The spacecraft, distant crescent and lighting illustrate the beginning of Pioneer 10’s journey.
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PIONEER 10

Instrument detail

Artist’s impression of Pioneer 10

Research-informed artist’s impression. Not an engineering drawing or mission photograph.

A spinning pioneer.

Pioneer 10 used spin stabilization, a large radio antenna and radioisotope generators on booms. This compact design carried instruments through the environment around Jupiter and into the outer Solar System.

An imagined departure from Earth. The spacecraft, distant crescent and lighting illustrate the beginning of Pioneer 10’s journey.

Leaving the blue planet

An imagined departure from Earth. The spacecraft, distant crescent and lighting illustrate the beginning of Pioneer 10’s journey.

An artistic view of Pioneer 10 near Jupiter. The cloud detail and spacecraft position are illustrative, not a photograph of the flyby.

The first Jupiter passage

An artistic view of Pioneer 10 near Jupiter. The cloud detail and spacecraft position are illustrative, not a photograph of the flyby.

An imagined view of Pioneer 10 continuing outward after contact ended. Enhanced exposure reveals the spacecraft in faint distant sunlight.

On a silent trajectory

An imagined view of Pioneer 10 continuing outward after contact ended. Enhanced exposure reveals the spacecraft in faint distant sunlight.

A place on the distance scale.

This map places Pioneer 10 at 141.85 AU from the Sun, about 21.22 billion kilometres. NASA/JPL Horizons trajectory calculation for 20 September 2026, 00:00 TDB. This is a modelled position, not live telemetry. Contact with the spacecraft has ended.

The marker shows distance along Starvium’s route, not a live sky position or flight direction. Pioneer 10 continues moving; this dated marker stays fixed until the snapshot is updated.

Find Pioneer 10 on the map ↗NASA / JPL · Position reference ↗

Motion beyond the planets.

The spacecraft no longer sends radio signals. Its speed and position are predicted from its trajectory; they are not fresh measurements.

Speed relative to the Sun: 11.8 km/s. Position epoch: 20 Sep 2026.

NASA · Mission position and status ↗

ENTRY 01 / FIRST ENCOUNTER

The road to Jupiter.

Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to traverse the asteroid belt and fly past Jupiter. Its December 1973 encounter measured the giant planet’s harsh radiation environment and returned close-up images.

ENTRY 02 / THE SILENT JOURNEY

No signal. Still moving.

The last signal from Pioneer 10 reached Earth in January 2003. Its map marker is a calculated trajectory position, not a radio measurement. Loss of contact does not stop the spacecraft’s outward motion.

An engraved introduction.

A gold-anodized aluminium plaque depicts two humans and symbols identifying the spacecraft’s origin. Pioneer 10 carries this physical message onward even though its scientific mission is over.

Mission references.

The spacecraft image is a research-informed artistic illustration. Map distance, speed and signal travel time refer to the snapshot dated 20 Sep 2026.