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.