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Happy 30th Birthday, Pioneer 10

Posted by timothy on from the not-yet-over-the-hill dept.

tlon writes: "Pioneer 10, the spacecraft that brought us the first pictures of Jupiter, turned 30 today. Launched in 1972, the probe is now some 7.4 billion miles away, as it cruises out towards Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus. NASA will attempt to contact the spacecraft today, (it was successfully contacted last year), but the round trip time is over 22 hours. How's that for a ping latency? See Nasa's Pioneer 10 Page for more details."

13 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Ping. by saintlupus · · Score: 4, Funny

    the round trip time is over 22 hours. How's that for a ping latency?

    Could be worse. They could be trying to get to it through @Home.

    --saint

    1. Re:Ping. by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 4, Funny
      Ping time don't bother me. My skillz are so 1337, I could dial in from that rocket and still rack up a couple dozen frags per game with the rail gun.

      Those poor sux0rs just wouldn't know they lost until the next day.

  2. Re:Now that is engineering by Steve+Franklin · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe that way it won't pose as much of a threat to anybody who finds it and they won't bother to come and investigate. It still amazes me how a bunch of scientific types can be so naive that they assume anyone they manage to contact will be just oh so friendly and willing to coexist. Kind of like George Adamski's "space brothers," don't you think? Have these characters all lost their blinking minds? Do we really want to advertize our existence before we have a decent sized fleet in orbit? But then again, they *are* engineers.

    --
    Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam rexque futurus.
  3. Yeah, but... by Eddy+Johnson · · Score: 1, Funny
    • It doesn't even have 1-wheel drive.
    • Apparently, fuel mileage is horrible, as they only got it out of our atmosphere with enough drive to get it to go a certain way.
    • No steering wheel... in fact, no steering at all.
    • The only radio it's equipped with is one with NASA, which mainly consists of things that remind you of 11th grade pre-calc, which makes CB in Iowa sound like the greatest radio station ever.
    • No brakes, which would definitely help when you get a little too close to a star.
    • No reverse. No park. Apparently, no stopping for a bathroom break or for lunch.
    • No legroom. No room for anyone period.
    • No Internet. The only computer on there has the processing power of a stapler.
    • No climate control, which would certainly help in -350 F temperatures in space.


    The biggest plus I can think of that Pioneer 10 has with a car is cruise control. Of course, on Pioneer you can't turn it off.
    --


    Anonymous Coward: (n.) 1. nerd at school or library. 2. karmawhore in training. 3. embarrased prep.
  4. Klingon Target Fodder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Once this sucker crosses the neutral zone, it becomes fair game

  5. Re:Now that is engineering by msaavedra · · Score: 3, Funny
    They don't build 'em like this anymore, gentlemen
    In fact, they rarely built 'em like that back then. My birthday is 2 March 1973, exactly one year younger than Pioneer 10, and I already feel like I'm falling apart. ;^)
    --
    "Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it."
    --Henry David Thoreau
  6. IP address? by ZaneMcAuley · · Score: 3, Funny

    So what is the ip address of this thing so i can perform a port scan :D

    Would make a killer proxy tho :)

    --
    ----- Whats wrong with this picture? http://www.revoh.org:1234/whatswrong
  7. pioneer 10. by The+Hollow+Room · · Score: 5, Funny

    why contact it? Whats it going to say? Still dark. Still dark. Still dark.

  8. Re:I know you're a troll, but... by sweatyboatman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Remind me never to move next door to you. Most people I know respond to new neighbors by bringing over food and generally being nice. Your first instinct, I take it, would be to kill them.

    Sweat

    --
    It breaks my pluginses, my precious!
  9. Re:It's going where? by toxcspdrmn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes - but we only found out about that in 1977 - 5 years after Pioneer was launched.

    --
    "E pur si muove!" - attributed to Galileo Galilei, 1564-1642
  10. Re:Speed of light is too slow. by PyroMosh · · Score: 4, Funny

    DH - No, no, no, Light speed's too slow!
    CS - Light speed to slow?
    DH - That's right we'll have to go straight to Ludacrious Speed!
    CS - <shock> Ludacrious speed! Sir, we've never gone that fast before!
    DH - WHAT's THE MATTER COLONEL SANDERS?!? CHICKEN?!?
    CS - <voice cracking> Prepare ship! </voice cracking>Perpare ship for Ludacrious speed! Close all shops in the mall, secure all animals in the zoo! Cancel the three ring circus!
    DH - <grabbing microphone> Give me that you petty excuse for an officer! Now hear this! Ludacrious speed!
    CS - Sir, you better buckle up!
    DH - Awww, bucke this! Ludacrious speed! GO!
    ****************

    What's truly sad is it's all from memory...

    --
    Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
  11. Scene from a future alien press conference... by Robber+Baron · · Score: 4, Funny

    In what has proven to be one of the most sensational discoveries in recent times, scientists have announced that they have discovered a probe originating from a far away alien race. This probe contains a plaque containing a mysterious cryptic message. We go live to an update from the scientific team studying the probe...

    "After much careful studying of the plaque and it's contents we believe we have determined the approximate nature of the message it contains..."

    "It says: Get your free porn here!"

    --

    You're using her as bait, Master!

  12. So what's in the ping? Top 10: by phloda · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Are wethere yet?
    2. Are we there yet
    3. Arewe there yet?
    4. Arewe there yet?
    5. Are we there yet?
    6. Arewe there yet?
    7. Are we there yet?
    8. Are wethere yet?
    9. Are we there yet?
    10. Are we there yet?