On this day in space: April 5, 1973: Pioneer 11 launches to Jupiter & Saturn

News
By last updated

On April 5, 1973, NASA launched the Pioneer 11 mission into the outer solar system.

On April 5, 1973, NASA launched the Pioneer 11 mission into the outer solar system. Pioneer 11 would become the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn, and it flew by Jupiter and the asteroid belt along the way. It launched about a year after its twin, Pioneer 10.

a white rocket rocket lifts off its launch pad, lighting the night sky with its plume.

NASA launches the Pioneer 11 interplanetary probe on a mission to study Jupiter and Saturn on April 5, 1973. (Image credit: NASA)

The plaques include drawings of naked humans and some symbols and diagrams that explain where the spacecraft came from.

Seventeen years after it launched, Pioneer 11 became the fourth spacecraft to leave the planetary part of the solar system when it flew past Neptune. Pioneer 11 is now on its way toward interstellar space.

On This Day in Space: See our full 365-day video archive!

Hanneke Weitering
Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.