23R002 The Pioneer Interstellar Mission and Beyond

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States launched Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft in 1972 and 1973 respectively, with the aim of travelling through the asteroid belt to obtain pictures of Jupiter and Saturn, as well as studying the solar wind, cosmic rays and heliosphere, etc. Pioneers 10 and 11 lost contact with NASA in 2003 and 1995 respectively. Nevertheless, they are still carrying, beyond the Solar System, a "message in a bottle" that represents all humans on Earth. Today, 50 years later, let us review the technology, journey and discoveries of the Pioneers and their implications to future space exploration in this exhibition.