7/8/2023 0 Comments Astronimal anomaly 2 a.d.It was understood that the probes would slow down to some extent due to the Sun’s gravitational attraction. This astonishing accuracy with regards to measuring the acceleration of the Pioneers led to an unusual discovery. The Pioneers are considered the most precisely tracked and navigated spacecraft to date. The Voyager spacecraft, which were not spin stabilized and relied on more frequent use of thrusters, cannot be tracked to this level of precision. The combination of the type of transceiver aboard the spacecraft and ground-based Doppler tracking used on the missions allowed their acceleration to be tracked to an almost unbelievable accuracy of ∼ 10 –10 meters per second squared (m/s 2). Both Pioneers were spin stabilized (which means that they rotate around a central point to keep them from wobbling or changing trajectory) and required very few course corrections that could perturb their motion. The Pioneers had some unique design features that allowed them to be very precisely tracked by Earth-based receiving stations. The Pioneers also famously carried the Pioneer plaque, with a pictorial message for any extraterrestrials who may someday encounter the craft this would give them information as to the origin of the probes. Powered by four plutonium-238 radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) each, the Pioneer spacecraft carried a plethora of scientific devices that allowed them to take photographs and make detailed measurements of the environments around Jupiter and Saturn and in the outer solar system. Like their successors, the Voyagers and New Horizons, both Pioneers are past the orbit of Pluto and will continue speeding outward from the center of the solar system. Launched in 19, respectively, these spacecraft were the first to transit the asteroid belt and the first to make close observations of Jupiter (both Pioneer 10 and 11) and Saturn (Pioneer 11). Before Voyager 1 and 2 explored the outer solar system, Pioneer 10 and 11 paved the way.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |