Pioneer 10
The Pioneer 10 plaque
Klaa's Bird-of-Prey approaches Pioneer 10
Pioneer 10 was a 20th century deep space probe used by NASA for surveying interplanetary space and the gas giant Jupiter.
Pioneer 10 carried a metal plaque on its hull, designed to give alien lifeforms basic, non-language-specific, information about its origin and its creators. Some time before 2287, the probe passed into Klingon territory, where it was destroyed by the Bird-of-Prey commanded by Captain Klaa. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
Background Information
- Pioneer 10 was launched from Earth on March 3, 1972. Its primary mission was to analyze the planet Jupiter, then head into interstellar space. Contact with the probe continued until the final successful contact attempt on January 23, 2003.
- The probe became one of the first man-made objects to leave the Solar system's planetary zone. As it passed through the extremes of the system, it was charged with investigating particles from the solar wind and cosmic rays. Pioneer's intended course was to eventually take it to the vicinity of the Aldebaran system.
- Though depicted as being destroyed in Klingon territory in the late 23rd century, in actuality the spacecraft's speed is so slow, it will not have even traveled past the Aldebaran star system in the next two million years.