i4is, in collaboration with researchers from the Florida Institute of Technology, Harvard, and Paris Observatory published a paper, in which they estimate that about 7 interstellar objects are entering the solar system per year. The article has been featured in numerous media outlets: Science Alert, Phys.org, Astrobites, Universe Today, Mashable India, Republic World, Fred Zone. […]
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.
i4is Director presents prospects of space resources and settlements to German Federal Ministry of the Environment
i4is Executive Director Andreas Hein has been invited to a discussion on space resource utilization with the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) on the 25th March 2021. He presented the prospects of space resource utilization and space settlements. The results of the discussion will inform future policy-making of […]
Nuclear missions to 1I/’Oumuamua published in Acta Astronautica – Free access!
Our i4is article by Adam Hibberd and Andreas Hein on missions using nuclear propulsion to interstellar objects such as 1I/’Oumuamua has now been published in one of the most prestigious journals in asteronautics, Acta Astronautica. The article is available for free to download for a limited time!
Deutsche Welle – i4is asteroid mining research featured
Andreas Hein presents some of the results form the i4is techno-economic analysis of asteroid mining in this excellent video. The paper: Hein, A. M., Matheson, R., & Fries, D. (2020). A techno-economic analysis of asteroid mining. Acta Astronautica, 168, 104-115.
i4is Article published in Astrophysical Journal Letters
We are proud that our article about a Venus astrobiology mission, based on a fleet of balloons has now been published in the prestigious journal Astrophysical Journal Letters. The article can also be downloaded for free via arXiv. We are grateful for the collaboration with Manasvi Lingam (Florida Institute of Technology / Harvard), without whose […]
i4is Venus balloon concept featured in Forbes
Fast mission to detect microbes on Venus – The joint i4is, FIT, Harvard, Space Initiatives paper: “A Precursor Balloon Mission for Venusian Astrobiology” by Andreas M. Hein, Manasvi Lingam, T. Marshall Eubanks, Adam Hibberd, Dan Fries, William Paul Blase has now been published on arXiv. Thanks to Bruce Dorminey, it has now been featured in […]
Project Lyra on Universe Today
Our Decadal Survey White Paper “Interstellar Now! Missions to and Sample Returns from Nearby Interstellar Objects” has been featured on Universe Today. Thank you to Matt Williams for another awesome article about Project Lyra!
Interstellar Now! Joint White Paper for Decadal Survey Submitted
We are very proud to announce that we have submitted a Mission Concept White Paper for the Decadal Survey on missions to interstellar objects: “Interstellar Now! Missions to and Sample Returns from Nearby Interstellar Objects” This was an intense collaborative effort between a group of international researchers: Andreas M. Hein (i4is), T. Marshall Eubanks (i4is/Space […]
Reaching 1I/’Oumuamua via Nuclear Thermal Rockets – A Gamechanger
Our Project Lyra Team has come up with an analysis of using nuclear thermal rockets for reaching the interstellar object 1I/’Oumuamua. It turns out that drastic reductions in mission duration (< 14 years for a launch in 2031) and spacecraft mass (1000s of kg vs. 100s of kg for conventional chemical propulsion) are possible.
i4is Magnetic Sail Paper in Acta Astronautica
We are very excited to share with you the publication of Nikolaos Perakis’ first single-authored paper in Elsevier’s peer-reviewed journal “Acta Astronautica”. The paper entitled “Maneuvering through solar wind using magnetic sails” explores the use of magnetic sails for interplanetary missions and can be accessed free of charge for the next 45 days using the […]
i4is Decadal Survey White Paper submitted
In collaboration with Space Initiatives (T. Marshall Eubanks) and the Paris Observatory (Jean Schneider), we have submitted the White Paper „Exobodies in Our Back Yard: Science from Missions to Nearby Interstellar Objects“, based on our work on Project Lyra. The Decadal Survey White Papers are a crucial first step towards defining future NASA missions in […]
The Cathedral and the Starship
What can we learn from cathedral builders from the Middle Ages for building a starship? In a blog article on Centauri Dreams, our Executive Director Andreas Hein elaborates on this question and provides some surprising answers.