It was launched on March 3, 1972, at 01:49:00 UTC (March 2 local time), by an Atlas-Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. . Pioneer 10 (originally designated Pioneer F) is a NASA space probe launched in 1972 that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter. This space exploration project was. . July 15, 1972: Spacecraft entered the asteroid belt Dec. 1976: Pioneer crossed Saturn's orbit June 13, 1983: Pioneer 10 crossed the orbit of Neptune March 31, 1997: Routine contact with spacecraft terminated Jan. Pioneer 10's mission was to study Jupiter's atmosphere, magnetosphere and satellites, particularly Io, as well as solar wind parameters and dust distribution. Pioneer 11's mission ended in 1995.
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