The Fermi Explorer will be the first spacecraft to launch to another star. It will launch in 2029, on a journey that will take around 77,000 years, for USD 15M
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Did you know that humanity has never launched a spacecraft to another star? That is about to change! We have created a non-profit to attempt to send humanity’s 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿… and we need your help!
We have formed non-profit The @FermiExplorer Mission with the goal of launching a minimum viable spacecraft to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system, leaving in 3 years and arriving in around 80,000 years. We hope it will be both the first spacecraft to leave Earth for another star, and the last to arrive, as per this concept video!
The mission is intended to make the idea of interstellar travel real, and to encourage more people to confront one of humanity’s biggest unanswered questions when we look beyond our planet: "Where is everybody?" (the Fermi Paradox)
The mission has four high-level objectives:
- Aim: To launch the first spacecraft to another star. It should get at least 99% of the way to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, within 80,000 years.
- Payload: It should have at least a 1kg, 10x10x10 cm payload.
- Schedule: It should launch before the end of 2029
- Cost: It should cost less than $15M to design, build, launch, and operate.
The mission was planned with the help of the folks at @astrodigitalgeo, @MattGialich and the folks at @AstroForge, and @alexwg+@matthew_pines physical AI lab PSI, who devised the final mission profile. The mission will be executed by full-time program manager @GarrettJameson, who joins us after 10 years as a US Air Force Officer, in collaboration with a US bus manufacturing partner that will be selected over the coming months.
We will need your help to complete the mission, so if the idea of the mission excites you, please check out the Fermi Explorer website in the comments to find out more about why we are doing the mission and how to get involved!
Thanks to London Studio @ZeroOneCreative and @ashkan01C for producing the concept video 🙏🙏
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Wise words from Laura Kreidberg, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy on the Fermi Paradox:
“It may be that intelligence is not evolutionarily favourable.”
@FermiExplorer
Once we have the telescopes to look, signs of life in the galaxy will be more frequent than we expect. For this Forecast 2050 we discuss looking up to the stars for the sparks of life that might help us answer the question that has plagued humanity for centuries. Are we alone out here?
Laura Kreidberg, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, thinks that we are within 30 years of finding out whether humanity is all alone in the universe.
Appointed at the age of 30, Laura is one of the youngest directors in the history of the Max Planck Society. Her work uses the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes to explore the atmospheres of planets orbiting distant stars. Read more about the science behind this in the @SkyandTelescope article linked below.
We discuss:
- How astronomers study exoplanet atmospheres, including measuring wind speed.
- The race to find the first exomoon.
- Why Laura would bet more than a bottle of wine that Mars and Venus once had life.
- The smoking gun evidence for alien life.
- The Fermi Paradox & whether the universe is indifferent to our presence.
- Science as soft power on the world stage.
Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
3:10 The Atmospheres of Other Worlds
8:14 In Astronomy, Bigger is Better
10:50 Earth-like Planets
20:04 The Huge Variety of Exoplanets
26:03 Science Communication
27:30 Intelligence is Not Evolutionary Favorable
33:30 Signs of Life on Exoplanets
40:19 Discovering Aliens in 30 Years
45:44 Science as Soft Power
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Love this description of the @FermiExplorer mission to Alpha Centauri! 🚀
youtube.com/shorts/L9ie9ZiAx…
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Support the Fermi Explorer Mission Lego set! ideas.lego.com/product-ideas…
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Had a great conversation with @timothyreuter on the Multiplanetary Society Podcast about @FermiExplorer. Thank you for hosting and talking about the mission!
open.spotify.com/episode/0UC…
🔥👌
@RuiHuang_art baut mit @bot ein interaktives Werk, Encyclopedia Cosmologica, das 2029 mit @FermiExplorer Richtung Alpha Centauri starten soll. Drin liegen über 5000 Science-Fiction-Arbeiten zu fortgeschrittenen Zivilisationen, angeregt von Jon Lomberg und Carl Sagan, mit Dank an @PhilipJohnston.
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I believe we need to redefine the Kardashev Scale, not by the amount of energy civilizations consume, but by the goals they can reach and the distances they cover in the cosmic ocean. Reaching the limits of our own star was the threshold of 'Civilization 1.0' for humanity. Now we must focus on new horizons, setting the achievement of reaching neighboring star systems as the new measure of our advancement. The foundations that will carry us into this new era are being built step by step, and that great leap towards 'Civilization 2.0' officially begins in 2029. Ladies and gentlemen, this is @FermiExplorer
🔥🫡
Dare mighty things.
This is a noble quest for the ages.
Beautiful to see this being done.
Go follow @FermiExplorer.🛰🌌
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Dare mighty things.
This is a noble quest for the ages.
Beautiful to see this being done.
Go follow @FermiExplorer.🛰🌌
Did you know that humanity has never launched a spacecraft to another star? That is about to change! We have created a non-profit to attempt to send humanity’s 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿… and we need your help!
We have formed non-profit The @FermiExplorer Mission with the goal of launching a minimum viable spacecraft to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system, leaving in 3 years and arriving in around 80,000 years. We hope it will be both the first spacecraft to leave Earth for another star, and the last to arrive, as per this concept video!
The mission is intended to make the idea of interstellar travel real, and to encourage more people to confront one of humanity’s biggest unanswered questions when we look beyond our planet: "Where is everybody?" (the Fermi Paradox)
The mission has four high-level objectives:
- Aim: To launch the first spacecraft to another star. It should get at least 99% of the way to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, within 80,000 years.
- Payload: It should have at least a 1kg, 10x10x10 cm payload.
- Schedule: It should launch before the end of 2029
- Cost: It should cost less than $15M to design, build, launch, and operate.
The mission was planned with the help of the folks at @astrodigitalgeo, @MattGialich and the folks at @AstroForge, and @alexwg+@matthew_pines physical AI lab PSI, who devised the final mission profile. The mission will be executed by full-time program manager @GarrettJameson, who joins us after 10 years as a US Air Force Officer, in collaboration with a US bus manufacturing partner that will be selected over the coming months.
We will need your help to complete the mission, so if the idea of the mission excites you, please check out the Fermi Explorer website in the comments to find out more about why we are doing the mission and how to get involved!
Thanks to London Studio @ZeroOneCreative and @ashkan01C for producing the concept video 🙏🙏
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Not really. You just have to accept that it will take longer. I don’t think SIs would care!
@FermiExplorer
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Thrilled to join @FermiExplorer as an advisor and donor.
The first spacecraft aimed at another star. Launch by 2029. Arrival at Alpha Centauri in ~80,000 years.
No one who builds it will see it arrive.
We're headed to the stars ⭐
arstechnica.com/space/2026/0…
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Super excited to have you with us Ben! 🙏🚀
Thrilled to join @FermiExplorer as an advisor and donor.
The first spacecraft aimed at another star. Launch by 2029. Arrival at Alpha Centauri in ~80,000 years.
No one who builds it will see it arrive.
We're headed to the stars ⭐
arstechnica.com/space/2026/0…
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Yes!! @FermiExplorer
Fermi Explorer retweeted
Couldn’t have said it better myself! 👌 @FermiExplorer
👌
The scientific calculations, ambition, analysis and discussion around @FermiExplorer are next level ✨ Visualisations are stellar! Honestly everyone interested in space exploration and the universe should check this out. It’s like real science meets Star Trek. ✨💫
Fermi Explorer retweeted
The scientific calculations, ambition, analysis and discussion around @FermiExplorer are next level ✨ Visualisations are stellar! Honestly everyone interested in space exploration and the universe should check this out. It’s like real science meets Star Trek. ✨💫
We have the rough design on the website. Working on finalizing it now fermiexplorer.org/analysis
Fermi Explorer retweeted
🔥🚀
The scientific calculations, ambition, analysis and discussion around @FermiExplorer are next level ✨ Visualisations are stellar! Honestly everyone interested in space exploration and the universe should check this out. It’s like real science meets Star Trek. ✨💫
Yes 🤓👌 we’re working on it at @FermiExplorer 🚀
