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Alpha Centauri

All articles tagged with #alpha centauri

space1 month ago•42 min saved

AI-Assisted Interstellar Plan Targets Alpha Centauri on an 80,000-Year Journey by 2029

A nonprofit, AI-assisted initiative called the Fermi Explorer Mission plans to launch a lightweight solar-electric spacecraft by 2029 and send it on an approximately 73,000–80,000 year journey to Alpha Centauri. The novel approach relies on repeated close solar passes (perihelion pumping) and proven propulsion tech rather than lasers or nuclear drives, with an estimated cost under $15 million and a rideshare from GEO to meet mass constraints. While extremely slow, the mission would demonstrate humanity placing a deliberate interstellar trajectory on an engineering path that could be surpassed by future spacecraft, rather than achieving rapid interstellar travel.

via The Brighter Side of News|

#alpha-centauri #fermi-explorer-mission #interstellar-travel

space-and-spaceflight1 month ago•16 min saved

Small Interstellar Probe Sets Sights on Alpha Centauri With a $15 Million Price Tag

A Seattle nonprofit’s Fermi Explorer Mission plans a 1-kg probe to Alpha Centauri by 2029, using solar-electric propulsion and a 12-year Sun-orbit to reach escape velocity, then travel interstellar distances. The 4x4x4 inch payload will include a digitized Golden Record and messages from children; the mission is expected to cost under $15 million and could take up to 80,000 years, aiming to inspire future generations rather than be completed within one lifetime.

via Gizmodo|

#alpha-centauri #golden-record #interstellar

science1 month ago•6 min saved

Private group plots ultra-cheap interstellar probe to Alpha Centauri to test the Fermi paradox

Entrepreneur-led team unveils the Fermi Explorer, a $15 million, 1 kg private probe intended to reach Alpha Centauri in about 77,000 years using solar-electric propulsion and a close solar pass (perihelion pumping). Planned for a 2029 launch from a rideshare into low Earth orbit, the craft would be tracked for roughly 18 months before going silent, aiming to test whether the galaxy’s silence is due to a ‘great filter’ and to spur interstellar exploration ideas outside NASA funding.

via Ars Technica|

#alpha-centauri #fermi-paradox #oberth-effect

space1 month ago•15 min saved

Low-cost interstellar probe targets Alpha Centauri on an 80,000-year journey

A new nonprofit, Fermi Explorer, proposes a roughly 100–110 kg spacecraft powered by xenon ion propulsion and solar energy to reach Alpha Centauri’s future position by around 2043, then coast for about 80,000 years. Launch could occur by 2029 for under $15 million, carrying at least 1 kg of payload and a physical archival record, but with no plan to transmit data back. Success is defined as completing 99% of the distance to Alpha Centauri rather than arriving in a human lifetime; the project is unfunded and presents a long-term, exploratory interstellar concept rather than an immediately achievable mission.

via Space Daily|

#alpha-centauri #interstellar-mission #ion-propulsion

space1 month ago•1 min saved

Crowdfunded Fermi Explorer Aims for Alpha Centauri, Arriving in 80,000 Years

A nonprofit team unveils the Fermi Explorer, a tiny, crowdfunded interstellar probe budgeted at under $15 million with a three-year launch plan that would reach Alpha Centauri in about 80,000 years; the mission aims to be first to launch but last to arrive, hoping to spark future tech and interest, with an 81-page plan and donation rewards like naming rights.

via TechSpot|

#alpha-centauri #crowdfunding #interstellar

space1 month ago•1 min saved

Starcloud Plans 80,000-Year Interstellar Mission to Alpha Centauri by 2029

Starcloud, a Tampa-based orbital data-center startup, has formed a nonprofit to fund an uncrewed refrigerator-sized probe aimed at Alpha Centauri by 2029, a mission expected to take about 80,000 years and backed by a roughly $15 million budget.

via SpaceNews|

#alpha-centauri #fermi-explorer-mission #interstellar

space1 month ago•163 min saved

Nonprofit Plans 80,000-Year Alpha Centauri Mission for 2029 Launch

A nonprofit called the Fermi Explorer Mission aims to launch a small spacecraft toward the Alpha Centauri system by 2029. The 100–200 kg probe would use electric propulsion, carry at least 1 kilogram of payload, and cost under $15 million. Advisors include Rob Meyerson and Matt Gialich, and the project is seeking donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The mission would be the first directed interstellar journey to another star, but with an expected travel time of about 80,000 years, its arrival would occur far beyond any human lifetime. The effort is intended to demonstrate feasibility and inspire future generations, rather than provide a near-term visit to Alpha Centauri.

via Space|

#alpha-centauri #electric-propulsion #fermi-explorer-mission

science1 month ago•16 min saved

Tiny Probes, Giant Lasers: a 21-Year Path to Alpha Centauri

A shuttle-speed trip to Alpha Centauri would take about 165,000 years, but Breakthrough Starshot envisions gram-scale nanoprobes attached to a metre-wide sail accelerated by a ground-based laser array to reach the system in roughly 21 years. The plan hinges on unbuilt, high-power lasers and a one-way, autonomous flyby, with major engineering challenges in sail materials, beam control, and interstellar hazards, and remains a design concept rather than a launch forecast.

via spacedaily.com|

#alpha-centauri #interstellar #laser-propulsion

space1 month ago•6 min saved

Red Dwarfs: The Galaxy's Quiet, Long-Lived Stars

Red dwarfs are the longest‑lived stars—potentially around 10 trillion years—thanks to slow hydrogen fusion and a convective interior that reuses fuel; they make up about three‑quarters of stars, including nearby Proxima Centauri, which hosts Earthlike Proxima b. While such systems could harbor habitable worlds, tidal locking and stellar flares complicate life, though a distant greenhouse effect could help; in any case, red dwarfs will dominate the galaxy’s stellar population long after larger stars fade.

via Defector|

#alpha-centauri #exoplanets #habitable-zone

science2 months ago•11 min saved

Laser sails could reach Alpha Centauri in decades, while Proxima b’s life status remains unresolved

Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system at 4.24 light-years, remains unreachable with today’s tech—Voyager-like speeds would take about 75,000 years to Proxima Centauri, while a laser-sail concept like Breakthrough Starshot could reach in decades but faces major engineering hurdles (huge lasers, durable sails, long-lasting electronics, and reliable communication). Proxima b sits in the habitable zone, but that does not guarantee water, atmosphere, or life, and atmospheric loss could be significant; no confirmed signs of life exist. In short, a tiny robotic probe might someday reach Alpha Centauri, but a real second Earth there is not yet proven.

via Space Daily|

#alpha-centauri #breakthrough-starshot #interstellar-travel

space2 months ago•12 min saved

Gram-scale lightsail eyes 20-year voyage to Alpha Centauri

A Space Daily piece outlines Breakthrough Starshot's concept: a gram‑scale payload on an ultrathin lightsail accelerated by a ground‑based laser array to about 0.2c, enabling a flight to Alpha Centauri in a little over 20 years. The plan hinges on building the laser, sail, and communications systems, plus solving beam stability, navigation, and decades‑long durability challenges. Even if launched, data would take years to return—about 26 years after launch—since a transmission from Proxima Centauri to Earth adds another 4.2 years. No launch date is set; the concept remains a physics‑proof, research program rather than an imminent mission.

via Space Daily|

#alpha-centauri #breakthrough-starshot #interstellar-travel

space4 months ago•71 min saved

Aurora over Earth and Alpha Centauri: rare ISS vantage point

A Space.com photo from the International Space Station, captured by JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui during Crew-11, shows Earth’s limb lit by auroras with the ISS hardware in the foreground and a view that includes Alpha Centauri and the Coalsack Nebula, showcasing a rare, three-dimensional perspective from space.

via Space|

#alpha-centauri #aurora #coalsack-nebula

space5 months ago•2 min saved

Laser-Propelled Metajets Point Toward a 20-Year Alpha Centauri Runway

Texas A&M researchers demonstrated laser-driven metajets—ultrathin, patterned devices—that can be steered in three dimensions by transferring photon momentum, with potential to scale to larger craft and, given enough laser power, enable a ~20-year voyage to Alpha Centauri; experiments were conducted in a fluid environment to observe controllable motion and microgravity tests are planned for space readiness.

via Gizmodo|

#alpha-centauri #laser-propulsion #light-propulsion

space-and-astronomy5 months ago•38 min saved

Laser-Powered Metajets Hint at 20-Year Alpha Centauri Trip

Texas A&M researchers report a lab demonstration of micron-scale metajets with metasurfaces that can be steered in three dimensions by laser light; they say the concept could be scaled to propel larger spacecraft, potentially enabling a 20-year journey to Alpha Centauri, though real-world feasibility and space testing remain to be proven.

via Yahoo Tech|

#alpha-centauri #interstellar-travel #laser-propulsion

space5 months ago•12 min saved

Micron-scale Metajets Open Door to 3D Light Propulsion

Texas A&M researchers demonstrated micron-scale metajets—metasurface-based devices that transfer momentum from light to lift and steer objects in 3D without contact—marking a scalable path for light-propulsion and potential interstellar missions to Alpha Centauri, contingent on sufficient optical power and funding; space-testing is the next step after fluid experiments that offset gravity.

via Interesting Engineering|

#alpha-centauri #interstellar-travel #light-propulsion