: Pioneer Saturn Encounter by United States National Aeronautics And Space Administration - Saturn probes; Pioneer (Space probes)

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Foreword 1 Introduction 3 Pioneer Saturn 4 Saturn Images 8 Science Highlights 21 Outward Bound 28

FOREWORD

The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft, launched in 1972 and 1973, respectively, were well named: they made the first crossings of the asteroid belt and were the first to encounter Jupiter and its intense radiation belts. Pioneer 11's trajectory, bent into a hairpin curve by Jupiter's powerful gravitational field, allowed it to recross the solar system to make the first flyby of Saturn almost a billion miles from Earth where it came within 13,300 miles of the cloud tops.

Assembled in this publication is a selection of the pictures returned by Pioneer 11 of Saturn and its largest moon, Titan. These images are of great beauty as well as of great scientific interest, serving to whet our appetite for the more detailed observations to be made by Voyager in 1980 and 1981. Tracking of both Pioneers will continue for many more years, providing fundamental data on the nature of interplanetary space in the depths of the solar system. The results of these outer-planet Pioneer missions have far exceeded our hopes and expectations of a decade ago when the program was initiated.

Robert A. Frosch, Administrator National Aeronautics and Space Administration

September 1979

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center Moffett Field. California 94035

INTRODUCTION

We have entered into a new era of space exploration. Missions undertaken during the lunar exploration of the 1960's typically lasted a matter of days with commands issued and carried out in near real time. Now, a decade later, planetary voyages may last for many years as the spiraling trajectories of the spacecraft make periodic intersections with the orbits of the planets. Communicating with us across the vastness of space, these spacecraft report to us their experiences as they traverse the outer reaches of the solar system.

Among these deep space travelers, Pioneers 10 and 11 are appropriately named, for they truly are pioneering the exploration of the outer solar system. Launched in 1972 and in 1973, respectively, they were the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter . At Jupiter, Pioneer 11's trajectory was carefully targeted to swing it toward Saturn for an encounter in September 1979. We see some of the early results in this publication.

Other spacecraft are following along the trail blazed by Pioneer Saturn. Voyager 1 passed by Jupiter in March 1979 and will reach Saturn in November 1980. Voyager 2 has also passed beyond Jupiter and will encounter Saturn in August 1981, with the further possibility of traveling on to Uranus . Under development are the Galileo orbiter and atmospheric entry probe, destined to journey to Jupiter where the orbiter will return more detailed information, including high-resolution pictures of the Galilean satellites, and the probe will penetrate deep below the Jovian clouds.

In the coming years, each of these follow-on missions will enrich our understanding of the solar system, greatly supplementing the observations of Pioneers 10 and 11. But one thing will never change. The Pioneers were first.

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