Paul Calle (American, 1928 - 2010) and Chris Calle (American, B. 1961) "1970s - Pioneer 10" Signed lower right. Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. Celebrate the Century Series 33c Pioneer 10stamp issued November 18, 1999. Launched on March 2, 1972, America's Pioneer 10 is a relatively small spacecraft weighing just 570 pounds. It was designed to travel to Jupiter, transmit pictures of the Jovian giant, then continue out of the solar system. Amazingly, it has exceeded all expectations. To complete the first part of its mission, Pioneer 10 had to cross the treacherous, debrisladen asteroid belt, which it did successfully on July 15, 1972. In 1973, the probe flew within 81,000 miles of Jupiter, becoming the first spacecraft to reach any of the outer planets. After capturing some 300 images of Jupiter and its major moons, Pioneer 10 traveled on to Neptune, which unfortunately was in the wrong position to be photographed. In 1994, Pioneer 10 crossed the heliopause, plunged into interstellar space and became the first man-made object to leave the solar system. Should it encounter any aliens as it ventures deeper into space, Pioneer 10 is equipped with an explanatory plaque. Designed with the help of the late Dr. Carl Sagan, the plaque bears an illustration of a man and woman, as well as a diagram of our solar system and its location in the galaxy. At its present speed, Pioneer 10 is expected to fly past its first star, Alderbaran, in the year 8001. Image Size: 19 x 11 in. Overall Size: 22 x 16 in. Unframed. (B16556 / B16557)