READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 29-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3
below.
 
Pioneer 10
 
When the space probe Pioneer 10 was launched in 1972, it was designed for a twenty-one-month
mission. Propelled by the most powerful engine ever used for a spaceship, it was the fastest craft to
leave Earth. Pioneer 10 reached the moon in just 11 hours and Mars in 12 weeks. It was the first
vessel from Earth to pass through the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter. Before Pioneer 10 no
one knew whether craft could navigate this perilous zone, where debris from dust particles to rocks
the size of a small country travels at 20kms per second. Pioneer 10 made the journey unscathed,
paving the way for further explanation. It circled Jupiter, sending back the first close-up images,
which showed clearly for the first time the composition of the planet, (mainly liquid) and its rings.
Pioneer 10 conducted a range of experiments, fifteen in all, using a complex array of instruments to
photograph, measure record, and transmit data. The experiments studied magnetic fields, solar
wind, cosmic rays, and the atmosphere of Jupiter and its satellites.
 
Once its mission was accomplished, the spacecraft used the gravitational force of the giant planet in
slingshot fashion, to accelerate away from Jupiter at a speed of 131,000 km per hour. It became in
1983, the first man-made object to leave the solar system and to everyone’s amazement, just kept
going. Continuing to transmit data, ‘writing home’ even as it approached the threshold of interstellar
space. Gradually, however, the power levels dropped and the experiments were turned off one by
one. Finally, after three decades of faithful service, NASA engineers concluded that Pioneer 10’s
power source had finally broken down. The last experiments were shut off and at that point, in 1997,
the mission was formally ended. But that was not the end of the story. Faint signals from P10 as it
was affectionately known continued to reach Earth for another 5 years until in April 2002 the
spacecraft sent its final message. By that time it was 12.2 billion kilometers away. The radio signal at
that time took 11 hours to reach the Earth, traveling at the speed of light.
 
Director of NASA’s Solar System Exploration Division, Colleen Hartman, ranks Pioneer 10 among
the most historic and scientifically rich exploration missions ever undertaken, opening the way for
exploration of the outer solar system. Given that the total cost to the end of the official scientific
operations was only 350 million dollars, the project was an outstanding success. An additional
benefit to the project was a sister ship, Pioneer 11, launched in 1973, as a backup, in case Pioneer
10 did not survive transit through the asteroid belt. When Pioneer 10 successfully completed its
encounter with Jupiter, its twin was re-targeted midflight in the direction of Saturn, 1.5 billion miles
away. There it took the first close-up images of that planet and discovered two additional moons in
its orbit, before moving out of communication range.
 
Until 1998, Pioneer 10 had the distinction of remaining the most distant object in space. Then
Voyager 1 launched in 1977, exceeded its reach. There are currently four spacecraft leaving the
solar system for interstellar space. Three are Voyagers, all following a similar trajectory. Alone,
Pioneer 10 heads in the opposite direction to the Sun’s motion through the galaxy. Travelling at 12.2
km per second, it has entered the vacuum of deep space where no further erosion of the capsule
should take place. NASA predicts that Pioneer 10 will outlive both the Earth and the Sun.
 
The craft has become Earth’s silent messenger to distant worlds. It carries on its side a gold plaque
depicting a man and a woman and showing the location of the sun and the Earth in our galaxy. The
man’s right hand is raised in a gesture of goodwill, a message from our planet to whatever
civilization may some day find the spacecraft. No longer in contact with the Earth, Pioneer 10, has
become a ghost ship, drifting towards the red star Aldebaran, the eye of the bull in the constellation
Taurus. That journey will take over 2 million years.
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. 
Write the correct answers on your answer sheet.
29. The Pioneer 10 mission was supposed to last
A. less than 2 years. B. 25 years.
C. 30 years. D. 2 million years.
30. The experiments were stopped because of
A. a breakdown in the research equipment.
B. problems with communication.
C. excessive cost of the mission.
D. power failure.
31. The mission officially ended
A. when the last signal from the spacecraft reached Earth.
B. when the experiments were terminated.
C. when the money ran out.
D. when the spacecraft left the solar system.
32. The plaque on the spacecraft shows
A. two figures pointing to the Earth on a map.
B. a man and a woman with raised hands.
C. two figures, one with a raised hand.
D. a man and a woman holding hands.

Reading Passage 3 mentions 3 different kinds of spacecraft.

Match one of the following spacecraft types (A-C) to each of the descriptions below.
 
NB      You can use any letter more than once.
 
List of spacecraft:
A.       Pioneer 10 
B.       Pioneer 11 
C.       Voyager 1
 
List of descriptions:
33. took close-up images of Saturn
34. most distant man-made object in space
35. first to leave the solar system
36. flight path re-programmed in mid-flight
37. following the direction of the sun’s movement
38. first to pass through the asteroid belt

Complete the sentences below.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from Reading Passage 3 for each answer.
Write correct answers on boxes, 39 - 40 in your answer sheet.
 
39. Experiments on various aspects carried out by Pioneer 10 utilized a range of ______________
instruments.
40. Pioneer 10 has become a/an _______________ craft after a long time of traveling towards other
planets in our galaxy.