The project: Breakthrough Starshot
As we all know, life may exist in the universe, and everyone that's a space enthusiast always wanted to visit another star system.
But the problem is that we don't have the technology to build rockets or space planes to take us at the speed of light.
The nearest star system to the earth and the sun is alpha-Centauri, at approximately 4.25 light years away. One of the stars: Proxima-Centauri b, is located in the habitable zone of alpha-Centauri star system, which may contain some sort of alien life. But getting there with our current rockets will take approximately 300000 years to get to the alpha-centauri system.
Technically, it's impossible at the moment.
But NASA has created a project called Breakthrough Starshot.
The mission:
The mission is to send tiny ships in the scale of centimeters, powered with laser to the alpha-centauri system at 15% the speed of light. They will send 1000 of these tiny ships onboard a space shuttle that will shoot the ships out to the alpha-centauri system.
Once they arrive, they will be able to take detailed pictures of Proxima-Centauri b
the problems we need to solve:
°since the ships are tiny in size and the fact that it's traveling 15% the speed of light, a collision with a spec of dust in that speed is enough to destroy the ships.
°it's hard (but possible) to get the electricity for the laser beam that is gonna propelle the ships, especially when you know that the electricity needed equals the electricity peak in France at 7 PM.
Some solutions:
° send all 1000 ships at once so at least some of them manages to get to alpha centauri and take pictures of Proxima-Centauri b.
°getting the power needed is hard, but possible. Again, the power needed to power the ships sails is as much as France uses at 7 PM.
when will the ships launch/ arrive?
The ships will begin flying in the years 2036 and arrive 15-20 years after (2051-2056).
Once they arrive at Proxima-Centauri b,
It will take 4 years to get information about the planet, and some detailed photos of the planets surface.
how much will this mission cost?
The whole project will cost $10 billion. And you may think that it is a lot, but if you consider this list of what the us government spends it national discretionary budget on:
°US military: $598 billion in 2017
°US government: $4 trillion in 2018
°NASA: $19.1 billion in 2018
As you can see here, NASA gets only $19.1 billion, which is roughly 0.5% of the National Discretionary Budget.
Taking $10 billion from anyone of these will not hurt, especially when you know that you will secure a future for our future grandchildren, who will one day travel to the planet with their space ships (maybe).
I hope you like the project fact!
If you have a project that is space related, then comment down below and I will check it out.
Cheers!