Fermi Explorer

Humanity's first journey to another star

[Fermi Explorer @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 🙏🙏

[Blake Scholl 🛫 @bscholl]

@PhilipJohnston @AdiOltean @EzraFeilden Badass

[Fermi Explorer @FermiExplorer]

@bscholl @PhilipJohnston @AdiOltean @EzraFeilden Thanks Blake!!!

[Philip Johnston @PhilipJohnston]

Thanks Blake!! Big fan of @boomsupersonic 😍🙌🚀

[Philip Johnston @PhilipJohnston]

Thanks @MetroUK for covering the @FermiExplorer Mission - humanity’s first journey to another star! 🚀

[Starcloud @Starcloud_]

🤓👌

[Garrett Jameson @GarrettJameson]

Thank you for covering @FermiExplorer!

[Fermi Explorer @FermiExplorer]

@GadiNBC 🚀🚀🚀

[Gadi Schwartz @GadiNBC]

The race to Alpha Centauri has begun!!!

[Gadi Schwartz @GadiNBC]

What a wild time to be alive... NASA's Administrator weighing in on the furthest deep space engineering sight humans have ever set. NEP escort???

[Philip Johnston @PhilipJohnston]

Thanks @GadiNBC and @NBCNews for having me on to talk about The @FermiExplorer Mission to another star! 🚀🚀

[Devon Triplett @devontriplett21]

@PhilipJohnston @GadiNBC @NBCNews @FermiExplorer “see that guy” 🧑🏼‍🚀

[Fermi Explorer @FermiExplorer]

💪🚀

[Philip Johnston @PhilipJohnston]

Thanks @GadiNBC and @NBCNews for having me on to talk about The @FermiExplorer Mission to another star! 🚀🚀

[Fermi Explorer @FermiExplorer]

🙏🙏🙏 thanks for your support Jared! We’d love to work with NASA!!

[Jared Isaacman @rookisaacman]

@PhilipJohnston @AdiOltean @EzraFeilden Cool concept.

[Fermi Explorer @FermiExplorer]

@rookisaacman @PhilipJohnston @AdiOltean @EzraFeilden We’d love to work with @NASA!

[Philip Johnston @PhilipJohnston]

Thanks so much for your support of @FermiExplorer Jared!! 🙏🙏
@rookisaacman

[Fermi Explorer @FermiExplorer]

��🚀 we’d love to work with @NASA!

[Philip Johnston @PhilipJohnston]

Thanks so much for your support of @FermiExplorer Jared!! 🙏🙏
@rookisaacman

[Graham @Graham_117]

This is awesome! I hope this starts a long-running, informal competition to achieve shorter and shorter travel times.

[Garrett Jameson @GarrettJameson]

That is the point! Great perspective from Henry. This is just the beginning...

[Philip Johnston @PhilipJohnston]

Also tagging @david_kipping who’s research, podcasts, and interviews were inspiration for me personally and made me care so much about the Fermi Paradox

[Owen Lewis @is_OwenLewis]

The @FermiExplorer's interstellar probe will travel at 25 km/s.

One order of magnitude more gets us to just a little faster than the Parker Solar Probe, the fastest human craft so far. Another 10x gets us to 1.2% the speed of light.

One more 10x gets us to 12% of c.

So actually, we're not as far off as you might think. So glad that @PhilipJohnston, @GarrettJameson, and the rest of the team are doing this. It's how we become a truly starfaring civilization.