A Visionary Project Aims for Alpha Centauri, a Star 4.37 Light-Years Away

New York Times ^ | 04/12/2016 | DENNIS OVERBYE

[MarchonDC09122009]

In an attempt to leapfrog the planets and vault into the interstellar age, a bevy of scientists and other luminaries from Silicon Valley and beyond, led by Yuri Milner, the Russian philanthropist and Internet entrepreneur, announced a plan on Tuesday to send a fleet of robots no bigger than iPhones to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system, 4.37 light-years away.

If it all worked out — a cosmically big “if” that would occur decades and perhaps $10 billion from now — a rocket would deliver a “mother ship” carrying a thousand or so small probes to space. Once in orbit, the probes would unfold thin sails and then, propelled by powerful laser beams from Earth, set off one by one like a flock of migrating butterflies across the universe.

[MarchonDC09122009]

Interesting private collaborative project in which Billion$ and Billion$ will be spent in the search for extraterrestrial life.

[MarchonDC09122009]

“Much of this plan is probably half a lifetime away. Mr. Milner and his colleagues estimate that it could take 20 years to get the mission off the ground and into the heavens, 20 years to get to Alpha Centauri and another four years for the word from outer space to come home. And there is still the matter of attracting billions of dollars to pay for it.”

Project website: http://breakthroughinitiatives.org/

[DBrow]

The most difficult part, as I see it, is for an iPhone-sized box to punch a signal- an image signal- over 4 light years, and to receive that signal.

And to remember to look for it after 50 years!

[Iron Munro]

Project Aims for Alpha Centauri, a Star 4.37 Light-Years Away

But first, maybe they can figure out how to make a return trip to the moon that is only 1 Light-Second away.

[sparklite2]

. But it would still take 20 years for them to get to Alpha Centauri. Those that survived would zip past the stars, making measurements and beaming pictures back to Earth.

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WTF? Pictures of what? A star? Good grief.

[themidnightskulker]

Dr. Smith is amused.

:)
... oh,the pain,the pain

[Sparticus]

WTF? Pictures of what? A star? Good grief.

The interstellar cops would probably come fine us for littering, too.

[Bratch]

An expedition to Alpha Centauri? What could possibly go wrong?

[Gamecock]

Galaxy phone has proven to be a better option: South African prophet goes to heaven, takes photos to prove it

[Little Pig]

The probes will transmit to the “mother ship” that brought them, which would be big enough to carry a more substantial transmitter and enough power to throw the signal back here.

I hope it works, and I hope that there will be breakthroughs in drive technology and related systems that let them accelerate the timeline. I’d like to be able to see genuine surface images of an extrasolar planet, even a barren rock, in my lifetime.

[fishtank]

If there is a string of satellites, they’d only transmit by leapfrog from one to the next.

[thorvaldr]

Actually this whole thing is just an excuse to build a huge laser array so that Zuckerburg can carve his initials on the moon. You heard it here first.

[Noumenon]

If I had any hair, I’d get a Belter haircut, Expanse mode.

[themidnightskulker]

FTW

need to dig out the spare keyboard now.

[Bogey78O]

It actually is a great idea. Solar sails are really a tech that can get us places for cheap. The problem is energy storage and transmission. It’s lonely in interstellar space and signals are hard to push out across vast distances.

[DungeonMaster]

60,000 g's of acceleration. 100 billion watts worth of lasers. 20 percent of the speed of light in 2 minutes.

[wally_bert]

Cobra Commander did something similar in the 80s cartoon.

[themidnightskulker]

Chair

[themidnightskulker]

OMG- how much usless crap do I have suuck in my brain?

[TheDon]

The laser is the most intimidating and expensive of the challenges. It would have to generate 100 gigawatts of power for the two minutes needed to accelerate the butterfly probes to a fifth of the speed of light (subjecting its tiny innards to 60,000 times the force of normal gravity, by the way). That is about as much energy as it takes for a space shuttle to lift off, Dr. Loeb said, and about 100 times the output of a typical nuclear power plant.

That will take a lot of wind generators, solar power and batteries as that is likely all we will have in 20 years...