Retrospective on the Pioneer Interstellar Mission Unveiled at Hong Kong Space Museum

Today, the Hong Kong Space Museum unveils a new specially themed exhibition titled “The Pioneer Interstellar Mission and Beyond,” to be held for public viewing until May 29, 2023. The showcase will display the Pioneer 10 and 11 Spacecrafts, and present information that ties together past technologies with questions for the future of space exploration.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America provided the artefacts in the exhibit. The Pioneer 10 and 11 were launched in 1972 and 1973 respectively and have been to the areas around Jupiter and Saturn, where valuable insight on cosmic conditions have been made.

Equipped with photopolarimeter photo-taking technologies in addition to a radioisotope thermoelectric generator to create its own power supply, the Pioneer spacecrafts have travelled through the asteroid belt to study the solar wind, cosmic ray, and heliosphere.

Thanks to the imaging technology on board, the Pioneer spacecrafts were the first to capture close-ups of Jupiter and Saturn, which served as important evidence to support the existence of gas giant Jupiter’s strong magnetic field. The images were also used to uncover a new ring orbiting Saturn.

Split into seven key parts, the spacecrafts are introduced according to their flight trajectories, their various building components, principles of operation, the interstellar journeys they have supported, and the discoveries made along the way.

The exhibition will also provide several interactive activities, such as tactile exhibits introducing the spacecrafts’ power source and imaging technology, as well as a “message in a bottle” workshop that references metal plaques onboard the original spacecrafts depicting information about the Pioneer mission.

Admissions are free, with more details on the exhibition available on the Hong Kong Space Museum site here.

Location: Hong Kong Space Museum, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, +852 2721 0226