Pioneer 10 was the first space probe to travel through the asteroid belt and to directly observe Jupiter, which it passed by in 1973. After completing its mission, it began heading in the direction of Aldebaran - a red giant star located 65 light years away in the constellation Taurus.

The final contact with the probe was made in 2003, when a very weak signal was detected from the craft, 12 billion kilometers (7.5 billion miles) from Earth. An attempt at contact in 2006 was unsuccessful.

Attached to the probe is a pictorial message, in case of interception by extraterrestrial life. This plaque shows the nude figures of a human male and female, along with symbols that are designed to provide information about the origin of the spacecraft.

Source: NASA