Great to see that our research has been featured in the well-known BBC Sky at Night Magazine: “Spacecraft powered by light sails and lasers offer a quicker way to explore the Solar System. But there’s a catch.” Check it out here! Congrats to Manasvi Lingam, Adam Hibberd, and Andreas Hein! (Image credit: BBC)
News from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies
In this section you can read some of the latest news from i4is and the world of interstellar studies. If you know of appropriate news please get in touch and it might appear here.
Astronomy Magazine Cover Feature: Project Lyra
Project Lyra is the cover feature of the bestselling astronomy magazine in the world! Check out the 10-page article of the June 2024 issue of Astronomy with a lot of great artwork based on the work by the Project Lyra team and beautifully executed by Maciej Rebisz. Get a digital copy here or a physical […]
Swarming Proxima: i4is wins NASA NIAC Grant
In collaboration with Space Initiatives Inc., we have succeeded in securing a prestigious NIAC grant. “Thomas Eubanks, Space Initiatives Inc. in Florida, believes a swarm of tiny spacecraft could travel to Proxima Centauri this century, sending back data about the Sun’s nearest interstellar neighbor using a novel laser sailcraft and laser communications.” More information here.
PROJECT HYPERION: THE HOLLOW ASTEROID STARSHIP – DISSEMINATION OF AN IDEA
Andreas M. Hein Asteroid starship arriving at an alien world by David A. Hardy Source: https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1618045 A large space mirror heats up an asteroid, slowly melting it. Water, which was injected into the center of the body expands, blows up the melted material, creating the shape of a balloon. After cooling down, rotation is induced […]
Avi Loeb takes on Project Lyra, we reply
Avi Loeb, whose name is firmly associated with the alien artifact speculation regarding ‘Oumuamua has posted a blog article on Project Lyra. This is not the first time he reacts to Project Lyra and we see this as another opportunity to put forward our point of view. We agree that the only way to settle […]
‘Oumuamua a hydrogen-water iceberg? i4is illustrates
‘Oumuamua, the interstellar object discovered in 2017 is hypothesized to be a hydrogen iceberg: Bergner, J. B., & Seligman, D. Z. (2023). Acceleration of 1I/‘Oumuamua from radiolytically produced H2 in H2O ice. Nature, 615(7953), 610-613. Although this has been a much discussed hypothesis, the dominant image of ‘Oumuamua used in the media is still the […]
BBC/Bilibili Series i4is Contribution: Rendezvous with the Future
Rendezvous with the Future (未来漫游指南) (BBC/Bilibili) is a major streaming TV series on the future of humanity, which has been released in China and has so far been watched by over 55 million people. It is narrated by the internationally famed Chinese SF author Liu Cixin. Our Executive Director Dr. Andreas Hein acted as an […]
Members Newsletter
Preprints from Principium 41 for members You will also find preprints of the following P41 article in your members only pages – IRG23 Preview: 8th Interstellar Symposium, McGill University, Montreal, July 10 – 13, 2023 Cost-Optimal System Performance Maps for Laser-Accelerated Sailcraft Project Lyra: What SpaceX could do: The Way to Go and the Launcher […]
Members Newsletter
The deadline to submit papers to the bi-annual Interstellar Research Group conference is now less than one month away (Abstract Submission Final Deadline, April 21) i4is will be there and we’ll be reporting in Principium and the Members Newsletter. It will take place July 10 – 13, 2023 (with pre-symposium seminars taking place) in Montreal, QC, Canada at McGill University.
Members Newsletter
This is just a short message from Tam O’Neill (Membership/Infrastructure Manager for i4is) to introduce you to our latest volunteer here at i4is, Parnika Singh. Parnika has graciously taken on the role as our membership newsletter editor.
Principium 39
Principium, the quarterly publication of the Initiative and Institute for Interstellar Studies, Number 39.
Why the Stars?
Adam Hibberd November 2022 People may ask the question why we should venture beyond our solar system to explore the stars? Why should we commit precious resources to such an endeavour? I have an answer to this which may to some degree be a personal one. The question boils down to why are we curious? […]
