Astrophysicist Frank Drake, best known for founding the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project, proposing the Drake equation and information on Arecibo, died Friday at his home in Aptos, California at the age of 92 . Drake has made numerous contributions to radio astronomy, and is best known for developing the Drake equation for calculating the number of highly intelligent civilizations that may come into contact with Earth. In 1961 he convened the first meeting of the search for extraterrestrial civilizations and came up with the Drake equation. He was director of the famous Arecibo Radio Astronomy Observatory from 1966–1968, and in 1974 sent the Arecibo message to the globular cluster M13, 25,000 light-years from Earth. He also participated in the design of the pioneer gold-plated aluminum plate, which is also the first time that human beings have sent physical information into outer space. Pioneer’s gold-plated aluminum panels are the medium through which alien creatures can understand us. Drake later also oversaw Voyager Gold Records.
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