Pioneer 10

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” [Luke 2:14]

Question: What was made by humans and is 8 billion miles away? Answer: Pioneer 10. This robotic space probe was launched on March 3, 1972, and is more than 9.5 light-hours from Earth. Pioneer 10 is presently about twice as far from the sun as the planet Pluto, and traveling to deep interstellar space at 28,000 miles per hour. Pioneer 10 has a number of record-making distinctions. It was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt, the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter, collect data, and transmit close-up images, the first to use a planet’s gravity to change its course and to reach solar-system-escape velocity, and the first human artifact to venture beyond and explore the outer solar system. Pioneer 10 was only supposed to last long enough for a two-year mission. As it turned out, the spacecraft sent signals back to Earth for more than 30 years!

Pioneer 10’s long mission has finally ended. The instruments powered by the 40-watt Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) fell silent in 2003. However, the 570-pound spacecraft will continue to coast, and in only 30,000 years or so it will pass within about three light-years of a nearby star in the constellation Taurus. Pioneer 10 is no longer the most distant manmade object. In 1998, Voyager 1, speeding at 35,000 miles per hour, traveled farther from Earth than Pioneer 10. But technically, the mission of Pioneer 10 may not be completely over. You see, this space-faring ambassador carries a six-inch by nine-inch gold anodized plaque bolted to the spacecraft’s main frame. It’s engraved with a graphic message of goodwill from the human race, and a map showing Earth’s location in the solar system. NASA says just in case “somebody out there” finds it!

Did you know the Bible teaches that there are extra terrestrials trying to communicate goodwill to Earth as well? Over 2,000 years ago in Palestine there were shepherds watching over their flocks at night, when suddenly a heavenly messenger spoke to them. This angel said, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10). The message was that Christ, the Savior of the world, was born in Bethlehem. Then a host of these heavenly beings broke into song on that once-dark hillside. This message was not sent from Earth into outer space. This message came from the heavens to our planet, the gospel of salvation.