Figure 38

Figure 7.8: A “work-in-progress” temperature map of the outer surface of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft body, comparing temperatures calculated via a numerical finite element method vs. temperatures measured by platform temperature (PLT) sensors and telemetered. While agreement between calculated and telemetered temperatures is expected to improve as the model is being developed, discrepancies between these values illustrate the difficulties of creating a reliable temperature map using numerical methods. (From [171172]).