Project Dragonfly is a feasibility study for an interstellar mission, conducted by small, distributed spacecraft, propelled primarily by laser sails. The spacecraft shall be capable of reaching the target star system within a century and be able to decelerate.
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The Mariner program
The Mariner program was a joint NASA/JPL initiative which ran from 1962 to 1973 and saw robotic probes sent to nearly all of the planets of the solar system. The program achieved many firsts, including the first planetary flyby, the first pictures from another planet, the first planetary orbiter, the first gravity assist manoeuvre.
To the Voyagers and escaping from the sun
The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched in the 1970s. They are now heading out into interstellar space. One day, we may build faster spacecraft and overtake them.
Interplanetary spacecraft programs
When we discuss interplanetary or interstellar missions, it is very difficult to say what is feasible and what is not – the question needs to be qualified. Are we talking about robotic or crewed missions? Flyby or orbital? Small spacecraft or large spacecraft? Lightly or heavily instrumented?
The measure of the Milky Way
We live on a planet, which is in orbit around a star, which is in orbit around a galactic centre on a circular journey that takes around 220 million years. The galactic centre is seen in the constellation Sagittarius from our point of view.
I4IS goes stratospheric at 89,000 ft
We are pleased to report that the launch was a huge success and the balloon flew from Northern Ireland to Oxfordshire. The balloon drifted 100 miles off course but the team were able to recover it. The total flight time was around 3.5 hours.
The Einstein-Rosen Bridge
With the recent box office success of the film ‘interstellar’ many people are excited about the prospects of wormholes as a means for interstellar transport. Although there is currently no evidence that such exotic objects exist in nature, it is possible that they could be artificially created, perhaps from versions of higher dimensional string theory and engineering of the fundamental space-time foam.
Beyond the boundary
The Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4iS) are proud to bring you our new book, which was edited by Executive Director Kelvin F.Long. This volume, took a year in the making and contains chapter contributions from some of the leading lights in the field of interstellar studies.