![]() It took close-up photos of both planets and many of their moons, some of which were discovered for the first time by the probe.īoth Voyager 1 and 2 are still operating and broadcasting signals back to Earth. Voyager 2 also explored Jupiter and Saturn before becoming the first and, so far, the only space probe to explore Uranus and Neptune up close. It was Voyager 1 that finally confirmed the uniqueness of Titan – the only moon in the solar system with anything more than a trace atmosphere. It arrived at Saturn a year later, taking photos of the planet and the first ever photos of many of its larger moons including Mimas, Tethys and Titan. Voyager 1 arrived at Jupiter in 1979, taking detailed photos of the planet and the four Galilean moons before heading to Saturn with the help of a gravity assist from the gas giant. They were sent to learn more about the outer planets, including Neptune and Uranus, which had remained largely shrouded in mystery up until then. The Voyager probes were launched to take advantage of what at the time was a favourable alignment between the planets, greatly decreasing the length of the journey. The Voyager program was one of the most successful ever and continues to this day to send data over the countless millions of miles back to Earth. Voyager 1 was launched in September, 1977 and its sister spacecraft, Voyager 2, was launched a month earlier. The Voyager space probes are the longest-running space exploration missions so far. This crescent view of Jupiter was taken by NASA’s Voyager 1 on Mar. Today, the two probes now continue towards interstellar space at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Using a gravity assist from Jupiter to boost its speed, Pioneer 11 ventured onward to Saturn, taking the first ever photos of the ringed planet in 1979. Pioneer 11 enjoyed an even greater degree of success, taking detailed images of some of Jupiter’s most significant features, such as the 200-year old Great Red Spot cyclone. It also took photos of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Pioneer 10 reached Jupiter after a year and a half of traveling, taking the first ever close-up photos of the planet. The Pioneer probes leave behind an impressive legacy, having kick-started the exploration of the outer planets. ![]() These two probes ended up having some of the longest missions ever by the time NASA finally lost contact with them in January, 2003 and September, 1995 respectively. Little was known about the outer planets until Pioneer 10 and 11 took the first ever close-up images of Jupiter and, in the case of Pioneer 11, Saturn as well. Pioneer 10 was launched in March, 1972 and its near-identical sister space probe, Pioneer 11 was launched in April, 1973. They were the first ever space exploration missions to the outer solar system. ![]() Pioneer 10 and 11 were part of the long and highly successful Pioneer program, which lasted from 1958 to 1978. It would still be another 30 years until NASA finally received the last signal from the probe. An artist’s impression of Pioneer 10 approaching Jupiter in November, 1973.
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