BY JUPITER!

Jacobs doesn't seem to know how to work in all the mind boggling concepts (his phrase) and centuries of discovery that the plotters of Pioneer 10's journey had behind them, so he simply throws together some definitions, solar system measurements, spacecraft chronology, and so on, then proceeds with a closer look at Pioneer's parts and their functions. Emphasis is on Pioneer's brush with Jupiter in late 1973, when it survived the planet's fierce radiation bombardment and collected information on Jovian moons, clouds, temperature, and unexplained reverse magnetism. A swift flyby, with an unsifted batch of photos contributing to the impression of haste.