Pioneer 10 is now officially silent after 31 years of service (launched March 2, 1972). Not bad for a craft that was designed for a 21-month mission plan. The last transmission from it was received January 27, from a distance of about 7.6 billion miles from Earth.

Accomplishments:
- first spacecraft to get close pictures of Jupiter
- first man-made object to leave solar system
- first spacecraft to pass through asteroid belt