Issues with your account? Bug us in the Discord!

Pioneer 10 falls silent

croxiscroxis I am the walrus
in Zocalo v2.0
After a 31 year mission, we now have lost contact with this space probe.

[URL=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/pioneer_10_030225.html]Artical Here[/URL]

This is the first probe to outlive support from Earth. It will reach its home in the star Aldebaran in the constelation of Taurus in 2 million years.

Comments

  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    I'm hoping that Voyagers 1 & 2 last the distance and are still transmitting when they hit the termination shock, and enter interstellar space.
  • C_MonC_Mon A Genuine Sucker
    Damn! It would bee nice to go on a trip whit it! Think of all the cool thing that you could see, like planets, stars and nebulas as far away as they are from here...
  • Rogue TraderRogue Trader Somebody stop him...
    lets not be somber lets celebrate the life of Pioneer 10!!!
  • KeyanKeyan Ranger
    [QUOTE]It will reach its home in the star Aldebaran in the constelation of Taurus in 2 million years.[/QUOTE]

    Or, maybe, in 250 years, it will come back to earth as a huge cloud of blue gas seeking its creator!!!
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    The Pioneers have weaker transeavers then the voyager probes. Last Contact with Pioneer 10 was just UNDER the minimum levels needed to be picked up.
  • stacmanstacman Ranger
    *Celebrates Pioneer*

    What did we glean from the telemetry?
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    The signal is too weak to et telemetry, but last time they did get data it was still inside the solar system. Have the voyager probes passed it yet?
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Both Voyager probes passes it in distance a while ago, I think.
    Last telemetry was April 27, at which point it was well beyond the orbit of Pluto but still within the solar system. The Voyager probes will leave the solar system first. I think Voyager 1 is due to hit the termination shock (or possibly the heliopause) some time in the next 5 to 10 years.
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    Teh situation with the voyagers is interesting (isn't V2 going faster than V1?). The Heliopause changes is size with solar activity (the sun spot cycle). They voyagers will leave the heliopause, but the heliopause will expand and the probes will re enter the solar system so to speek.

    Isn't the termination schock and teh heliopause the same thing?
  • whitestar90whitestar90 Elite Ranger
    Not bad for seventies tech.
    Perhaps the klingons blew it away while at target practice:D
  • stacmanstacman Ranger
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by whitestar90 [/i]
    [B]Not bad for seventies tech.
    Perhaps the klingons blew it away while at target practice:D [/B][/QUOTE]

    Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnn!!!
  • Rogue TraderRogue Trader Somebody stop him...
    the ss botany bay!
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    croxis: I don't think they're exactly the same thing, but they are related somehow. I need to find the article I read about it a while ago.
  • PJHPJH The Lovely Thing
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Biggles [/i]
    [B]Both Voyager probes passes it in distance a while ago, I think.
    Last telemetry was April 27, at which point it was well beyond the orbit of Pluto but still within the solar system. The Voyager probes will leave the solar system first. I think Voyager 1 is due to hit the termination shock (or possibly the heliopause) some time in the next 5 to 10 years. [/B][/QUOTE]

    "In 1983, it became the first manmade object to leave the solar system when it passed the orbit of distant Pluto."

    !!!

    - PJH
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    I think the solar system is also defined by the location of the heliopause, where the sun no longer has any influance.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    PJH: Technically, that is not leaving the solar system. Sure, it's past all the planets, but you don't leave the solar system and enter interstellar space until you pass the heliopause and termination shock, where the sun's influence gives way to the interstellar winds. If you read the original NASA press release, it only says that Pioneer 10 became the first manmade object to be more distant than all the planets.
  • KeyanKeyan Ranger
    And you have to pass through the llort..er...oort cloud ;)
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    lol if there is an oort cloud. Besides, the chunks of ice would be very far apart, so the probability of hitting something is very small
Sign In or Register to comment.