March 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of one of the most extraordinary spacecraft ever constructed – Pioneer 10 – the first true deep space probe. Pioneers 10 and 11 accomplished many scientific milestones, including successful journeys through the asteroid belt and the first ever close-up photographs of Jupiter and Saturn. The missions proved that robotic exploration of the outer Solar System was possible, and their scientific observations forever changed our view of the Earth’s celestial neighborhood.