Interplanetary space contains the mass and energy of the solar system so that planets, comets, dwarf planets, etc., are moving objects within it. Pioneer 6, 7, 8, and 9, which were carried out in such an environment, were another giant step in the space exploration of the Pioneer program, launched in between 1965 and 1969 with the participation of NASA.
These are a group of satellites. They are primarily solar powered. As mentioned earlier, their function is to observe separate locations in interplanetary space. There the fifth i.e., the Pioneer E satellite was involved in an accident and hence the correct mathematical information could not be obtained from it.
The primary objective of this constellation is to make accurate and detailed measurements of the solar wind, solar magnetic field, and cosmic rays. These also measure magnetic phenomena and particles and fields in space. Also, the activity of the solar wind can be identified with this. In that way, a proper understanding of the impact of solar storms on the Earth can also be obtained.
These launched spacecrafts were used to collect solar physics and space weather data. Meanwhile, together with other vessels, the observations are combined with weather balloon observations on Earth to collect information. In early August 1972, the Pioneer 9 spacecraft recorded one of the strongest solar storms ever recorded. According to the space knowledge of the world at that time, getting such things that should be more dangerous as well as considered is not further proof of the importance of these Pioneer’s vessels.
Design and Use of Equipment
Each of the Pioneer’s vessels was identical and had a net mass of 146 kg. Since the surface is 0.94 m in diameter and 0.81 m high, it is cylindrical, with a 1.8 m magnetometer and solar panels mounted around the satellite. Also, the main antenna of these is high gain oriented. The plane is stabilized with a spin of about 1 Hz. Also, the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the solar plane, i.e., at an angle of ninety degrees towards the pole of the solar plane.
In addition, each satellite has a system with the following equipment.
- Solar Wind Plasma Faraday Cup (6, 7)
- Cosmic-Ray Telescope (6, 7)
- Electrostatic Analyzer (6, 7, 8)
- Superior Conjunction Faraday Rotation (6, 7)
- Spectral Broadening (6)
- Relativity Investigation (6)
- Uniaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer (6)
- Cosmic-Ray Anisotropy (6, 7, 8, 9)
- Celestial Mechanics (6, 7, 8, 9)
- Two-Frequency Beacon Receiver (6, 7, 8, 9)
- Single-Axis Magnetometer (7, 8)
- Cosmic Dust Detector (8, 9)
- Cosmic Ray Gradient Detector (8, 9)
- Plasma Wave Detector (8)
- Triaxial Magnetometer (9)
- Solar Plasma Detector (9)
- Electric Field Detector (9)
The communication of this vessel operation is by ground command. That is, one of the five-bit rates, one of four data formats, and one of four operating modes are selected. The five-bit ratios were 512, 256, 64, 16, and 8. Three of the four data formats contain scientific data and have 32 seven-bit words. Such a scientific model uses the highest bitrates. Another is to use the three lowest bit rates. A third radio propagation test contains that data. The fourth form contains mostly engineering information.
These have four modes of operation, namely real-time, telemetry storage, duty cycle storage, and memory readout. In real-time mode, data samples properly specified by data format and bit rate are transmitted directly without storage. Data from telemetry storage is also transmitted at the selected bit rate. In function curve storage mode, a single frame of scientific data is added, and data is stored at a rate of 512 bps. The time to add and store successive frames can be varied between 2 and 17 via the ground command to provide a half-data effect per 19-hour period, limited by bit storage capacity. Memory readings also read data at any bit rate depending on the satellite’s distance from Earth.
Events and Discoveries of Pioneer Program
Launch Date and Time:
- Pioneer 6 on December 16, 1965, at 07:31:21 UTC
- Pioneer 7 on August 17, 1966, at 15:20:17 UTC
- Pioneer 8 on December 13, 1967, at 14:08:00 UTC
- Pioneer 9 on November 8, 1968, at 09:46:29 UTC
NASA announced on March 26, 2007, that Djinn Pioneer 6 was still active, but there had been no communication with it since December 8, 2000. Pioneer 6 has now been launched for 12,758 days, making it the oldest operational space probe. Scientists believe that Pioneer 7 and 8 can be connected at this time. But there is currently no evidence that Pioneer 9 alone will work.
The Pioneer 6 and 9 programs were the least expensive of the various operations carried out by NASA until then. Although the spacecraft’s scientific data have not been used for financial gain recently, a telemetry link was established with Pioneer 6 on December 8, 2000, to commemorate its performance over the years since launch. Also, its original design life expectancy is six months.
References:
- In Depth | Pioneer 08 –. (n.d.). NASA Solar System Exploration. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/pioneer-08/in-depth/
- In Depth | Pioneer 06 –. (n.d.). NASA Solar System Exploration. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/pioneer-06/in-depth/
- In Depth | Pioneer 09 –. (n.d.). NASA Solar System Exploration. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/pioneer-09/in-depth/
- In Depth | Pioneer 07 –. (n.d.). NASA Solar System Exploration. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/pioneer-07/in-depth/
- Pioneer Program | Historic Spacecraft. (n.d.). https://historicspacecraft.com/Probes_Pioneer.html
Image Courtesies:
- Featured image: https://bit.ly/3WkGezV
- Image 1: https://bit.ly/3Wa5Fog
- Image 2: https://go.nasa.gov/3PtKOK1
Article by Sasanika Ruwanthi Jayarathna, 2nd Year Undergraduate, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo
