Nothing Yet from Pioneer 10

by | Mar 6, 2006 | Missions | 3 comments

As reported by Larry Kellogg, the recent attempt to pick up a signal from Pioneer 10 may have come up short, although the team working on the project is processing the data in the attempt to pin down anything that isn’t noise. Says Kellogg:

Distance makes a difference… The 8 watt transmitter wouldn’t be putting out a full 8 watts (a night light of power) and the signals seen at Earth were buried down in the noise you get from just pointing an antenna out into space. It is like looking for a needle in the front lawn down in the grass.

One spike looks a lot like the one next to it.

If you see something you think is your needle you can narrow the band pass filter and magnify what you are looking at. You don’t see anything next to it though and so you have to look back and fourth and hope you recognize your needle.

We haven’t had any signals from Pioneer since 23 January 2003; the last telemetry data were received on 27 April 2002. With no real-time detection of the spacecraft’s carrier signal, the suspicion grows that we have lost Pioneer 10 forever (although the ongoing data analysis could still prove this wrong). If so, we can thank the probe for its extraordinary journey, and say thanks as well to the team that sent it on its way. A comprehensive book on the Pioneer program is Mark Wolverton’s The Depths of Space (Washington DC: Joseph Henry Press, 2004). The Pioneer 10 and 11 home page is here.

← Previous Article Interstellar Sessions at Princeton
Next Article → Briefing on Stardust Results

3 Comments

  1. Fred Kiesche on March 6, 2006 at 14:29

    Those darn Klingons probably got it.

    Seriously, I hope they get contact with it. The fact that we were able to contact it through 2003 speaks volumes for the dedication and quality of the work of those who launched those puppies to begin with!

  2. Fred Kiesche on March 6, 2006 at 14:39

    Oops. Forgot to mention that I found Jeffrey Kluger’s “Beyond Selene” a good read on the Pioneer program (more detail on Voyager, though). The book also covered things like Ranger. I will have to buy the Wolverton on your recommendation!

  3. Administrator on March 6, 2006 at 14:47

    I’m glad you mentioned Beyond Selene, which I had meant to read some years back and had not gotten around to buying. I’ll be sure to track down a copy, and it will be interesting to see what Kluger has to say about the Ranger program, too.

    Always enjoy Eternal Golden Braid — readers who are unacquainted with Fred’s take on science and science fiction should try it at:

    http://theeternalgoldenbraid.blogspot.com/

Now Reading

Charter

In Centauri Dreams, Paul Gilster looks at peer-reviewed research on deep space exploration, with an eye toward interstellar possibilities. For many years this site coordinated its efforts with the Tau Zero Foundation. It now serves as an independent forum for deep space news and ideas. In the logo above, the leftmost star is Alpha Centauri, a triple system closer than any other star, and a primary target for early interstellar probes. To its right is Beta Centauri (not a part of the Alpha Centauri system), with Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon Crucis, stars in the Southern Cross, visible at the far right (image courtesy of Marco Lorenzi).

Recent Posts

On Comments

If you'd like to submit a comment for possible publication on Centauri Dreams, I will be glad to consider it. The primary criterion is that comments contribute meaningfully to the debate. Among other criteria for selection: Comments must be on topic, directly related to the post in question, must use appropriate language, and must not be abusive to others. Civility counts. In addition, a valid email address is required for a comment to be considered. Centauri Dreams is emphatically not a soapbox for political or religious views submitted by individuals or organizations. Human comments only, please -- cut and paste from AI will not be acceptable. A long form of the policy can be viewed on the Administrative page. The short form is this: If your comment is not on topic and respectful to others, I'm probably not going to run it.





Advanced Propulsion Research




Beginning and End







Archives