British scientist and entrepreneur Philip Johnston has announced a project for a minimal viable probe that could become the cheapest interstellar mission in history, reports infohub.kz.
A private group of entrepreneurs led by British physicist and mathematician Philip Johnston has announced the start of the "Fermi Explorer" project. The initiative aims to raise $15 million to build and launch a small spacecraft to the Alpha Centauri star system. The concept's authors want to prove the possibility of interstellar travel using existing technologies and without the multi-billion-dollar budgets of government agencies like NASA.
The project is designed to test hypotheses related to the Fermi paradox. The creators plan to launch a probe with a payload mass of 1 kilogram as early as 2029. The spacecraft will be equipped with a xenon tank, solar panels to power a solar-electric engine, and scientific instruments. The probe's trajectory was calculated using artificial intelligence from Physical Superintelligence, a company founded by physicist Alex Wissner-Gross.
According to the plan, after reaching low Earth orbit, the probe will perform a series of maneuvers near the Sun to accelerate. Using the Oberth effect and solar energy, the spacecraft will reach a speed of about 25 kilometers per second over 12 years. After entering its flight trajectory, the probe will reach the Alpha Centauri system in approximately 77,000 years. Communication with the spacecraft will only be maintained for the first 18 months, but Johnston believes that the very act of sending it will be an important step for humanity.