First to Leave, Last to Arrive: The $15 Million Fermi Explorer to Alpha Centauri

The Fermi Explorer is a nonprofit project aiming to launch an affordable interstellar probe to Alpha Centauri by 2029. By utilizing a low budget of $15 million and existing satellite technology, the mission avoids expensive experimental hardware in favor of a 110-kilogram craft propelled by xenon ion thrusters. An AI-designed trajectory known as the "perihelion pump" will allow the probe to gain speed by swinging close to the sun before beginning an 80,000-year journey. Rather than returning data, the craft serves as a cosmic time capsule carrying analog records, DNA, and cultural artifacts to be recovered by future generations. This initiative suggests that interstellar exploration is possible for small groups without needing massive planetary resources, offering a hopeful perspective on the Fermi Paradox.

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