A promotional button (badge or pin) that has the words "Pioneer Venus Orbiter" across the top and the trademark "NASA" and the letters "BFEC" on the outer sides. In the center of the button is a circular image of a spacecraft hovering over the surface of an orange planet. At the bottom of the pin the words "Final Encounter -1992" are printed.;This collection of space-related buttons provides the Museum with concrete examples of souvenirs used to commemorate many of the space program's milestones of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The collection was put together by the donor's husband who worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) during those years. These types of buttons would have been given out to members of JPL project teams, but some were also available to general public, demonstrating the wide appeal of the space program. There are observable differences in the buttons that were clearly designed for more of a mass market, versus those designed to be souvenirs for JPL project team members.;The Pioneer Venus Orbiter was launched on the 20 May 1978 from the Kennedy Space Center aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket. It went into orbit around Venus on 4 December 1978. The spacecraft was intended to operate in orbit for one Venusian year. In 1992 it entered Venus' atmosphere.
