![]() Look between the large dish antenna and the main part of the spacecraft closer to the wall. In Pioneer's new location in the Museum, visitors can get a view of the plaque from the balcony near the Albert Einstein Planetarium box office on the second floor. In the mockup on display in the Museum, the artwork faces outward. They faced inward for protection from possible erosion caused by micrometeorite strikes. The gold-covered aluminum plaques were affixed to the antenna supports of the two spacecraft. The plaques were designed by Carl Sagan and Frank Drake and drawn by Sagan's wife at the time, Linda Salzman Sagan. The mission team eventually decided to add a small plaque with the message. During planning stages of the Pioneer 10 and 11 missions, science writer Eric Burgess suggested adding a greeting to an alien civilization. One AU is the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun, or approximately 150 million km (93 million miles). Pioneer 10 and 11, although no longer functioning, are leaving the solar system at 2.6 and 2.5 AU per year, respectively. Pioneer 10 and 11 returned data until 20, respectively, until their power supplies became too weak to support operations. Both traversed the asteroid belt and visited Jupiter, while Pioneer 11 also visited Saturn on its way out of the solar system. Designed as identical spacecraft, Pioneer 10 was launched on March 2, 1972, and Pioneer 11 on April 6, 1973. ![]() Pioneer 10 and 11 were the first spacecraft designed to visit the outer solar system-the region beyond Mars. A replica of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft on display in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall at the Museum in Washington, DC.
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