SPACE — On February 23, 1990, NASA’s Pioneer 11 spacecraft left the solar system. This is the second spacecraft to travel beyond the planetary portion of our solar system, ending in the orbit of Neptune.
The first Earth object to pass by was a nearly identical spacecraft called Pioneer 10. Pioneer 11’s older sibling had successfully passed Neptune’s orbit about seven years earlier.
NASA’s Pioneer 11 is just one of five spacecraft to reach 50 AU on its way out of the Solar System. Image: NASA
Both Pioneer spacecraft carry gold plaques containing information about Earth in case they encounter aliens in space. On its way to interstellar space, Pioneer 11 flew through the asteroid belt and swung past Jupiter and Saturn. Source: Space com
2024-02-23 16:47:00
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