In March 1972, a plaque he designed with legendary astronomer Carl Sagan was blasted into space on board the Pioneer 10 spacecraft. ( Click here to see the Pioneer Plaque.) A few years later, Drake and Sagan would team up again on a much more ambitious project, attaching a gold-plated record full of music and photos onto the two Voyager probes.

FORBES: How To Talk To Aliens

He conducted the first radio search for extraterrestrial intelligence and helped construct the Voyager interstellar record, which carried pictures and music from Earth out into the cosmos.

FORBES: 02.18.08, 6:00 PM ET