Pioneer 11 at Jupiter

Launched April 6, 1973, Pioneer 11 was the second spacecraft to observe Jupiter close up. The spacecraft’s closest approach to Jupiter occurred on Dec. 3, 1974, at a range of about 26,400 miles (42,500 kilometers) from the planet’s cloud tops, three times closer than Pioneer 10. Besides the many images of the planet (and better pictures of the Great Red Spot), Pioneer 11 took about 200 images of the moons of Jupiter. It also took the first pictures of the polar regions of Jupiter. Pioneer 11 flew by Jupiter on its way to explore the Saturn and its main rings.