The non-profit Fermi Explorer Mission has announced plans to launch a small spacecraft to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, by 2029. The mission will cost less than $15 million and carry a payload of at least 1 kg. What is the purpose of the 80,000-year-long mission?
The non-profit Fermi Explorer Mission has announced plans to launch a small spacecraft to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, by 2029. The mission will cost less than $15 million and carry a payload of at least 1 kg. What is the purpose of the 80,000-year-long mission?
According to the initiators, this will be the first ever purposeful mission to another star system, and its main goal is to take a practical step in interstellar aeronautics and draw attention to the Fermi paradox.
Engineers estimate that the probe, weighing between 100 and 200 kg, will travel to the Alpha Centauri system, which is located 4.4 light-years from Earth. Since the device will use a standard electric propulsion system instead of hypothetical futuristic technologies, its journey will take about 80,000 years.
The project was founded by Philip Johnston, co-founder and CEO of space data center startup Starcloud. Former Blue Origin president Rob Meyerson and asteroid startup AstroForge CEO Matt Jalich also joined the Fermi Explorer team and advisory board.
«We hope to be both the first to leave and the last to arrive at Alpha Centauri. None of us will be here when this journey is over, and that’s the whole point. It’s about taking the first achievable step and inspiring future generations to continue to push beyond the boundaries we’ve inherited,» said Philip Johnston.
The team notes that they have already received an offer from one of the leading satellite manufacturers, which fits within the budget limit of $15 million. To raise funds, the organization has launched a multi-level donation program, where in exchange for various financial support they offer to immortalize the memory or send artifacts into space:
Asteroidal ($10): Adding a name to the mission website.
Lunar ($100): Engraving two sets of initials on the probe body.
Planetary ($1,000): Engraving of two full names.
Stellar ($10,000): engraving of a 2×2 cm photo and two names.
Galactic ($100,000): Placement on board a 2×2×2 mm cube for a personal item (e.g., strands of hair with DNA or ashes).
Universal ($1 million): a 3×3×3 cm container for a larger object (e.g. a gemstone).
NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are currently in interstellar space, but they are drifting without a specific target star. The previous high-profile interstellar project, Breakthrough Starshot, planned to accelerate nanoprobes using powerful lasers to 20% of the speed of light to reach Alpha Centauri in 20 years, but the implementation of this idea is hampered by the lack of the necessary technologies.
