On March 2, 1972, NASA launched Pioneer 10, the first man made object to leave the solar system. The spacecraft's purpose was to investigate Jupiter, which it passed on December 3, 1973.Following the Jupiter flyby, Pioneer 10 continued a trajectory that exited our solar system in June of 1983 by crossing the orbit of Neptune. Ordinarily Pluto is the outermost planet, but because of its lopsided path around the sun, Pluto was inside the orbit of Neptune at that time.
Power for the spacecraft was obtained by four SNAP-19 radioisotope thermonuclear generators containing Plutonium-238 with a half-life of 87.7 years. Hopefully, this "alien" probe will bypass any of our yet undiscovered neighbors. A radioactive Pioneer 10 crashing into some other intelligent life form's preschool somewhere far from our home planet could very well precipitate an unwelcome visit.
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