Key Facts

• The Fermi Explorer mission seeks about $15 million in funding to build and launch a small spacecraft with a 1-kilogram science payload.
• The mission aims to send the probe to Alpha Centauri in less than 80,000 years using existing solar-electric propulsion technology.
• It intends to launch the spacecraft into low-Earth orbit first, then gradually use the Sun’s gravity and solar power for speed boosts.
• The spacecraft will perform “perihelion pump” maneuvers, flying close to the Sun to gain extra speed before heading out into deep space.
• This mission is designed to test two ideas related to the Fermi paradox: whether species avoid sending spacecraft beyond their star and if interstellar travel is too difficult.
• The team used artificial intelligence to design a new spacecraft trajectory that compensates for low solar energy far from the Sun.
• The project avoids expensive technologies and aims to be the “cheapest possible” interstellar mission.
• Philip Johnston co-founded Starcloud, a company working on orbital data centers, which helps fund and inspire his interest in space missions.