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Astronomy: Pioneer
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The Pioneer mission that went to Venus was a double spacecraft mission. The first spacecraft went into orbit on 4 December 1978 and with its radar it mapped the surface. The second spacecraft dropped four probes that entered the atmosphere to measure the temperature and air composition. Although not designed to land, one probe continued to send signals for one hour after having crashed into the ground. The Pioneer probes discovered three main cloud decks on Venus. Cloud decks that are located at 50-60 kilometers above the surface. Jupiter and SaturnPioneer 10 and 11 meant man's first encounter with the planets Jupiter and Saturn.Pioneer 10 was launched in March 1972 and reached the asteroid belt in February 1973. In december 1973 it reached Jupiter where it measured the planet's magnetic field and radiation. On 5 April 1973 Pioneer 11 was launched which flew past Jupiter in December 1974 and using the gravitation of the gas giant it reached Saturn on 1 September 1979. While passing Saturn the Pioneer 11 spacecraft took pictures and scanned for a route for the 2 Voyager spacecrafts that were already on their way. Both Pioneer spacecrafts are without power and headed out of our solar system. Related subjects>> Venus>> Voyager missions >> The asteroid belt >> Jupiter >> Saturn |
 One of the Pioneer spacecrafts |
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