Abstract:
According to recent reports from the US Space Network and the MIT Technology Review website, the non-profit organization Fermi Explorer Mission has announced a low-cost interstellar plan and plans to launch a small probe before the end of 2029 to fly to the Alpha Centauri star system about 4.4 light-years away. The route was planned by AI and took about 80,000 years to complete, with a total budget of less than $15 million.
No one can see the outcome at the end of the journey, and that's exactly what it's about: "It's about taking the first step into what humans can do, and about inspiring future generations to continue pushing the limits of what we've inherited," project co-founder and chairman Philip Johnston said in a statement.
The mission has four hard targets: the probe should fly towards the Alpha Centauri star system and complete at least 99% of the entire journey within 80,000 years; the payload should be at least 1 kilogram, packaged in a space of 10×10×10 centimeters; it should be launched before the end of 2029; and the full-cycle cost should be less than US$15 million.
The technical route of this mission abandons immature solutions such as laser sails and nuclear fusion and switches to solar electric propulsion. Power planning is completed by the Physical Super Intelligence (PSI) of the Physical Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, which uses AI models including Claude and GPT to break the project into subtasks and then decide how to run it. According to the plan, after entering orbit, the probe will first maneuver toward the inner side of the sun, repeatedly lower its perihelion, and ignite for a short time in the strong illumination and high heliocentric speed range. It will gradually accumulate escape velocity before entering the interstellar glide. The age and final speed of the fixed power section have not yet been given, and it is only left to the manufacturer to optimize as a demonstrable concept.
The Alpha Centauri star system consists of Alpha Centauri A, Alpha B and Proxima Centauri. It is the closest stellar neighbor to the solar system. Although the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Voyager 1 and 2 have entered interstellar space, they do not point to specific stars. This time the Fermi Explorer is the first directional mission to another star system. In 2016, Hawking and investor Yuri Milner announced the "Breakthrough Starshot" mission, which planned to use lasers to push a miniature light sail to about 1/5 the speed of light, and it would arrive in about 20 years. It promised US$100 million for proof of concept, but there is no launch date yet.
In terms of payload this time, the probe will carry scientific and artistic materials, messages for future civilizations, children's information, and a replica of the Voyager golden record. The project will also open a three-month payload collection and open it for scientific researchers, engineers and the public to participate in improvements. Its advisors include former Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson and others, and day-to-day execution is led by former U.S. Air Force officer Garrett James.
Johnston said that the higher-speed interstellar navigation technology that will follow the project can be inherited by future generations. The current mission is still in the bidding, financing and payload collection stages. Launch in 2029, a budget of US$15 million and arrival in 80,000 years are all planned goals.
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