Pioneer 3
Pioneer 3 was a NASA, Army Ballistic Missile Agency and JPL lunar-flyby attempt launched on December 6, 1958. Its two Geiger-Mueller counters measured radiation, while a photoelectric sensor was intended to test a trigger for a future imaging system; the probe did not carry that imaging system. Early booster cutoff prevented escape from Earth, but radiation data returned during its rise and fall helped establish the two-band structure of the Van Allen belts.
Follow this mission
Alerts are unavailable because this mission is no longer active.
Identity
- Aliases
- Pioneer 3Pioneer P-3Juno II Pioneer 3 Lunar Flyby Probe
- Name
- Pioneer 3
- Status
- failed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Pioneer 3 was a NASA, Army Ballistic Missile Agency and JPL lunar-flyby attempt launched on December 6, 1958. Its two Geiger-Mueller counters measured radiation, while a photoelectric sensor was intended to test a trigger for a future imaging system; the probe did not carry that imaging system. Early booster cutoff prevented escape from Earth, but radiation data returned during its rise and fall helped establish the two-band structure of the Van Allen belts.
- Destination
- Failed lunar flyby attempt; premature booster cutoff left the probe short of escape velocity, but it reached approximately 102,322 km and returned valuable Van Allen Belt data before reentry
- End Date
- 1958-12-07
- Outcome
- Failed lunar-flyby mission. Pioneer 3 did not reach the Moon or enter heliocentric orbit after premature booster cutoff left it below escape velocity, but it returned valuable Van Allen Belt radiation data before reentering Earth's atmosphere on December 7, 1958.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1958-12-06
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-3/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 14, 2026 at 17:38:27 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 17, 2026 at 14:02:01 UTC
- Image
- Download
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles