In case you’re abducted by aliens
There seems to be renewed interest in the plaque attached to the famous Pioneer 10 space probe. T-shirts, dog-tags, and emergency bracelets are popping up here and there with this now famous “here’s where we are” image.
Why you ask? Alien abduction of course.
Consider this: you’re abducted by aliens. They forgot from which world they snatched you. The aliens see your Pioneer 10 image on your t-shirt or engraved on your MedicAlert bracelet.
Bingo, the aliens breathe a collective sigh of relief. They have your return address and plonk you safely back on good old earth!
Return to sender has never had a better ring to it than this.
Launched on March 2, 1972 by an Atlas-Centaur rocket,Pioneer 10 (also called Pioneer F) was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt, and was the first spacecraft to make direct observations of Jupiter.
On December 3, 1973, Pioneer 10 sent back the first close-up images of Jupiter. On June 13th 1983 it passed the orbit of Neptune, then the outermost planet because of Pluto’s highly eccentric orbit.
By some definitions, this made the spacecraft the first artificial object to leave the solar system. However, Pioneer 10 has still not passed the heliopause or Oort cloud.
You just never know about alien abduction now do you? Once Pioneer 10 passes the Oort cloud who knows what havoc might break loose?