In 1972 the United States launched Pioneer 10, the first probe to travel to an outer planet (it would later continue out of our solar system). The outer planets are those beyond the asteroid belt which sits past Mars. Its main mission was to gather information about Jupiter and in December 1973 it successfully started sending back images of the gas giant. On the 3rd of June 1983 Pioneer 10 passed the orbit of the most distant planet and on the 22nd of January 2003 it sent back its last contact with earth as it is now too far away for the signal to reach us. This is not the end for the probe though, in 34,600 A.D. it will pass within 3 light years of a star called Ross 246. On the side of the probe is a plaque designed by astronomer Carl Sagan and intended for any intelligent life it may encounter. The plaque contains an image of a man and a woman, a star map with our Sun marked on it and another map showing the flight path of the probe.
In 1970 the Prime Minister of Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe) Ian Smith illegally declared the country a republic. On the 11th of November 1965 Mr Ian Smith then illegally declared independence from the United Kingdom in an attempt to keep control of the country in the hands of the white minority (220,000 white residents compared to 4 million Black residents). But the United Kingdom was only prepared to grant Independence on the basis that power be given back to the black majority. The declaration of Independence was condemned by the UN, the US and UK placed sanctions on the country. On this day in 1970 Mr Smith continued his attempts to keep control of Rhodesia by declaring it a republic claiming that it would bring international recognition. It just brought more condemnation from the international community. Fighting began later in the 1970’s between the government and a black majority movement which led to the election of Robert Mugabe as Prime Minister in 1980.
In 1969 A growing rift between the two most powerful communist nations China and Russia, was demonstrated when the two countries opened fire on each other. Both sides claimed that the other had invaded its territory leading to retaliation with no side admitting to initiating the conflict. The United States saw this as a great advantage during the Cold war and on the 21st of February 1972 President Nixon travelled to China with the hope of improving relations. They believed allying themselves with China would prove to be a useful tool against Russia during the Cold War.
