Call for Participation: Pioneer 10 25th Anniversary and Virtual

[Jan Wee <jwee@MAIL.ARC.NASA.GOV>]

To Online Educators and Space Enthusiast:

On March 3, 1997 NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC will host a
Conference  celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Launch of
Pioneer 10. At this session there will be presentations on the
history, significance,  and  discoveries  of  Pioneer 10.  There will
be an emphasis for educators discussing how this deep space
mission can be used to stimulate learning experiences in the
classroom.

For those unable to attend in person, the Silver Anniversary
Conference will also be presented as a Virtual Conference on the
Internet.

The Virtual Conference will allow you and your classroom to
participate in this event.  Remote participants can listen to a radio-
quality audio signal and view the presenter's graphics.  You will be
given an opportunity through WebChat and electronic mail to join the
conference discussion and ask questions.

On March 2, 1972, an Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle lifted Pioneer 10
from the launch pad at Cape Kennedy carrying Earth's first space
probe to an outer planet.  To accomplish this feat, Pioneer 10 had to
pass through what was feared to be an impenetrable asteroid belt.

After Pioneer 10  emerged from the asteroid belt, its follow-on
companion, Pioneer 11, was launched on a similar trajectory.  The
next major event occurred when Pioneer 10 was the first to
encounter Jupiter and survive its intense radiation.  At this point,
Pioneer 11 was retargeted mid-flight for an eventual encounter with
Saturn.  Pioneer 10, therefore, opened the way for exploration of the
outer solar system - for Pioneer 11, for Voyager, for Ulysses, and
for the future Cassini flight to Saturn.

Pioneer 10 became the first artifact to "leave the Solar System" on
June 13, 1983 when it passed beyond the farthest known planet.  The
most remote object ever made by man, Pioneer 10 is currently over
6 billion miles away.  It is now searching for the solar wind
termination shock and the edge of interstellar space.  It carries with
it a plaque heralding a message of its origin to a possible
extraterrestrial intelligence that may find it some day.

To learn more about this online event please join the following mail
list which will provide information about this event:
*  Send an email to:  listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov
*  Leave the subject line blank
*  In the message body type:  subscribe pioneer10
*  Please to remember to disable your email signature

Or, check our Web Site: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer10  on
February 7 for more information.

If you are interested in attending the conference in Washington DC
contact Bob Hillenbrand (bhillenbrand@mail.arc.nasa.gov)

We hope you join us for this exciting event!