NASA is planning an interstellar mission for 2069

[Swift]

Mankind hasn’t yet explored some of the most interesting objects in our own solar system — heck, we still don’t even know all that much about Earth itself — but that isn’t stopping NASA from setting its sights at a destination so distant that it would take decades for a spacecraft to even get there. A tentative mission is currently being outlined that would see NASA send a spacecraft on an interstellar mission to explore the Alpha Centauri system.

The proposed journey, which was revealed by scientists with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the 2017 Geophysical Union Conference and reported by New Scientist, was born out of a budget mandate to make progress on interstellar travel. Now, NASA is working on technology that, if all goes as planned, could allow a spacecraft to reach ten percent of light speed, and the goal is to have it ready by 2069 with Alpha Centauri in its sights.

Read here - NASA is planning an interstellar mission for 2069, may head to nearby Alpha Centauri

:isee: 69 :butthead:

 

[Solid Snake]

NASA is all like...

 

[Jacob Fox]

Oh bringing back the idea of Project Longshot. With current propulsion technology, it would actually take 78,000 years for anything we launch to reach Alpha Centauri. Nuclear pulse propulsion would bring it down to 100 years and laser sails would make it pretty easier, but unfortunately none of that is really developed enough to do. I suppose they could have it done by 2069. Honestly if they can figure out the negative energy problem before then, it would only take two weeks to get there... but that ain't looking too possible.