Current Status
On September 9, 2012, Pioneer 10 was 106.696 AU (1.59615×1010 km; 9.918×109 mi) from the Earth and 106.676 AU (1.59585×1010 km; 9.9162×109 mi) from the Sun; and traveling at 12.037 km/s (26,930 mph) (relative to the Sun) and traveling outward at about 2.539 AU per year. Sunlight takes 14.79 hours to get to Pioneer 10. The brightness of the Sun from the spacecraft is magnitude -16.6. Pioneer 10 is heading in the direction of the constellation Taurus.
If left undisturbed, Pioneer 10 and its sister craft Pioneer 11 will join the Voyager spacecraft in leaving the solar system to wander interstellar medium. The trajectory into interstellar medium is expected to take it in the general direction of the star Aldebaran, currently located at a distance of about 68 light years. If Aldebaran had zero relative velocity, it would require more than 2 million years for the spacecraft to reach the star.
A backup unit, Pioneer H, is currently on display in the "Milestones of Flight" exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Many elements of the mission proved to be critical in the planning of the Voyager program.
Read more about this topic: Pioneer 10
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