The $100 million plan to get to Alpha Centauri
2016; Elsevier BV; Volume: 230; Issue: 3069 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0262-4079(16)30641-8
ISSN2059-5387
Autores Tópico(s)Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
ResumoBillionaire Yuri Milner has announced the largest-ever investment in interstellar travel: $100 million to research and create prototype spacecraft capable of reaching the nearest star in just 20 years. These wafersats would be small enough to fit in the hand, weighing just few grams. Milner and his scientific advisory team--which includes Stephen Hawking--believe recent developments should make it possible to send thousands of these probes to Alpha Centauri, where they could beam back pictures and scientific data on any planets in orbit. The plan involves launching spacecraft that are little more than a silicon water 10 centimeters across, comparable to the guts of a smartphone
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