# So Long Pioneer 10 - Let's Hope Others Will Follow

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-pioneer-10-lets-hope-others-will-follow/157574>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 26, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-pioneer-10-lets-hope-others-will-follow/157574 "2003-02-26T05:16:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-pioneer-10-lets-hope-others-will-follow/157574/1 "2003-02-26T05:16:35Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> LOS ANGELES, California (AP) – Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to venture out of the solar system, has fallen silent after traveling billions of miles from Earth on a mission that has lasted nearly 31 years, NASA said Tuesday.
> 
> What was apparently the spacecraft’s last signal was received January 22 by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Deep Space Network. At the time, Pioneer 10 was 7.6 billion miles from Earth; the signal, traveling at the speed of light, took 11 hours and 20 minutes to arrive.

Source: [http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/25/pioneer.10.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/25/pioneer.10.ap/index.html)  
In the wake of the Columbia tragedy, your passing must not go unnoticed. Let us hope your makers can follow you to the stars as well.

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-long-pioneer-10-lets-hope-others-will-follow/157574/2 "2003-02-26T06:01:02Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Duckster \*  
> \*\*In the wake of the Columbia tragedy, your passing must not go unnoticed. Let us hope your makers can follow you to the stars as well. \*\*

Indeed. Let’s hope that one day our descendants are able to view _Pioneer 10_ in a museum.