Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

This is a cutaway model of Pioneer 4, one of the early satellites designed for lunar exploration. It was equipped with Geiger counters to measure radiation in space. The sister ship of Pioneer 3, it was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 3, 1959, atop a Juno II rocket. Pioneer 4 successfully passed within 60,000 kilometers (37,300 miles) of the Moon the day after launch. The satellite was tracked for 82 hours to a distance of 655,000 kilometers (407,000 miles) from Earth, a record at that time. Pioneer 4 is now orbiting the Sun, the first U.S. spacecraft placed in solar orbit.

NASA transferred this model to the Museum in 1975.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type SPACECRAFT-Uncrewed Manufacturer NASA - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 Dimensions Overall: 1 ft. 8 in. tall x 9 in. wide (50.8 x 22.9cm)
 Materials Lens - glass with plastic housing
Overall - aluminum, vinyl covered wire, composite
 Inventory Number A19751426000 Credit Line Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.