Pioneer 9
NASA's Pioneer 9 was the fourth in a series of five solar-orbiting probes designed to measure electromagnetic and plasma properties of interplanetary space from widely separated points over at least six passages of solar activity. It collected data on the solar wind, cosmic rays, and interplanetary magnetic fields from a 0.75 × 0.99 AU heliocentric orbit and transmitted more than 6 billion bits of data.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Pioneer 9Pioneer-DPioneer 9 Solar Orbiter
- Name
- Pioneer 9
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- NASA's Pioneer 9 was the fourth in a series of five solar-orbiting probes designed to measure electromagnetic and plasma properties of interplanetary space from widely separated points over at least six passages of solar activity. It collected data on the solar wind, cosmic rays, and interplanetary magnetic fields from a 0.75 × 0.99 AU heliocentric orbit and transmitted more than 6 billion bits of data.
- Destination
- Heliocentric orbit at approximately 0.75 AU perihelion and 0.99 AU aphelion (297.55-day period) for interplanetary-space observations
- End Date
- 1987-03-03
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Successful heliophysics mission. By May 1969 NASA announced that Pioneer 9 had achieved all objectives after transmitting more than 6 billion bits of data on the solar wind, cosmic rays, and interplanetary magnetic fields. NASA maintained contact until May 19, 1983; attempts to reestablish contact with SETI equipment failed on March 3, 1987, and NASA declared the spacecraft inactive.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1968-11-08
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-9/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 14, 2026 at 18:01:33 UTC
- Updated Time
- September 7, 2026 at 23:48:49 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles