Pioneer 9 Program

NASA’s Pioneer 9 Program was the fourth of a series of solar-orbiting spacecraft designed to measure interplanetary phenomena from widely separated points in heliocentric orbit. Launched on 8 November 1968, it measured the solar wind, cosmic rays, and interplanetary magnetic fields, contributed to the first space-based solar-weather network supporting Apollo, and was declared inactive on 3 March 1987 after contact was lost.

Identity

Aliases: Pioneer 9Pioneer-DPioneer 9 missionPioneer solar orbiter
Domains: spaceflight
Name: Pioneer 9 Program
Status: completed
Types: explorationscienceresearchoperations

Details

Description: NASA’s Pioneer 9 Program was the fourth of a series of solar-orbiting spacecraft designed to measure interplanetary phenomena from widely separated points in heliocentric orbit. Launched on 8 November 1968, it measured the solar wind, cosmic rays, and interplanetary magnetic fields, contributed to the first space-based solar-weather network supporting Apollo, and was declared inactive on 3 March 1987 after contact was lost.
End Date: 1987-03-03
Leads
Parent Program
Participants: -
Start Date: 1968-11-08

Assets & Meta

Creation Time: August 13, 2026 at 14:47:21 UTC
Updated Time: August 13, 2026 at 14:47:21 UTC

Other

Official Urls: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-9/https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/ames/50-years-ago-pioneer-9-launched-to-aid-apollo-astronauts/https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/psd/solar/2023/09/d/DSC_monograph24.pdf