Daily Weird News Report
A nonprofit space project is proposing an interstellar mission whose arrival would be witnessed by no one currently alive: the Fermi Explorer Mission wants to launch a probe toward Alpha Centauri by 2029, according to Space.com.
Alpha Centauri, a three-star system about 4.4 light-years from Earth, is the nearest stellar neighbor to the Sun. The planned spacecraft would be directed toward that system, unlike NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes, which are traveling through interstellar space but are not headed for a particular star.
The mission’s expected travel time is approximately 80,000 years. Philip Johnston, the nonprofit’s co-founder and president, said the project is intended to take an achievable first step toward interstellar travel rather than produce results within a human lifetime. The organization has described the craft as potentially being the first spacecraft launched toward Alpha Centauri and the last to arrive there.
The proposed vehicle would weigh between 220 and 440 pounds on Earth, or roughly 100 to 200 kilograms, and carry at least 2.2 pounds, or one kilogram, of payload. The team expects the spacecraft to use electric propulsion, a technology it describes as more efficient than chemical propulsion and already proven in spaceflight.
Fermi Explorer estimates that the entire mission could cost less than $15 million. Space.com reported that the organization already has a proposal from a major satellite manufacturer below that limit, although the spacecraft builder and scientific payloads had not yet been finalized. The project is seeking donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
The group connects the mission to the Fermi Paradox—the question of why humanity has not observed clear evidence of other intelligent civilizations despite the apparent abundance of potentially habitable worlds. The nonprofit says a mission to another star would not resolve that question, but could provide evidence that an intelligent species can attempt interstellar travel without resources beyond reach.
The project was founded by Johnston and fellow Starcloud co-founders Ezra Feilden and Adi Oldean. Former U.S. Air Force officer Garrett Jamison is handling day-to-day execution, while former Blue Origin president Rob Meyerson and AstroForge co-founder and CEO Matt Gialich are among its advisers.
