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A Journey to the End of Time

The Solar System in 3D, in real time

A simulation of the Solar System driven by real ephemerides. The Sun, the planets, Pluto and the major moons, space probes, the International Space Station, nearby stars and the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way are where they really are at the chosen moment. You can run time from 1700 to 2100, fly from one object to another and look at the sky from anywhere on Earth.

Pioneer 10

Space probe

Facts

Launch
2 March 1972
Jupiter
4 December 1973 (UTC)
Last signal
23 January 2003

Pioneer 10 is a NASA probe launched on 2 March 1972: the first to cross the main asteroid belt and the first to fly past Jupiter. Designed for 21 months, it worked for more than thirty years.

Its last signal came from about 12 billion km away and took 11 hours 20 minutes to reach Earth. With no contact, its position can only be calculated: that is why the simulation marks it as estimated.

It carries a plaque showing a man, a woman, the Solar System and the position of the Sun relative to 14 pulsars. It is heading towards the red star Aldebaran, which it will pass in about two million years.

Sources