MARTIAN PROBES: Pioneer / Viking / Mariner - Lot 242

MARTIAN PROBES: Pioneer / Viking / Mariner Commemorative panel framed under glass presenting a set dedicated to the Pioneer 10 (launched March 2, 1972) and Pioneer 11 (launched April 5, 1973) space missions. The composition includes a reproduction of Carl Sagan's famous drawing of a nude man and woman for possible extraterrestrial civilizations, accompanied by scientific diagrams describing the probe's terrestrial origin. Three gilded brass plates complete the set: the first is dedicated to the 1973 Pioneer-Jupiter mission, the first probe to leave the solar system, bearing the name of the manufacturer TRW Systems Group; the second to the 1974 Pioneer-Jupiter Saturn mission, the first probe to fly over Saturn, also bearing the name TRW Systems Group; the third plate, placed in the center, reproduces the complete drawing with the characters and scientific markers. A rare and emblematic testimony to the history of the conquest of space and the first attempts at interstellar communication. 28 x 22 cm