Project Lyra develops concepts for reaching interstellar objects such as 1I / 'Oumuamua and 2I / Borisov with a spacecraft, based on near-term technologies. But what is an interstellar object?
Laser sail spacecraft arriving at 'Oumuamua, the interstellar asteroid (Credit: Maciej Rebisz)
What is 1I/'Oumuamua and what is an Interstellar Object?
On October 19th 2017, the University of Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on Haleakala discovered a fast-moving object near the Earth, initially named A/2017 U1. It is now designated as 1I/’Oumuamua. This object was found to be not bound to the solar system. It has a velocity at infinity of ~26 km/s and an incoming radiant (direction of motion) near the solar apex in the constellation Lyra. Due to the non-observation of a tail in the proximity of the Sun, the object does not seem to be a comet but an asteroid. More recent observations from the Palomar Observatory indicate that the object is reddish, similar to Kuiper belt objects. This is a sign of space weathering.
Discovery of the Second Interstellar Object, 2I/Borisov and Spacecraft Missions
When will such an object visit us again? End of 2019, a second interstellar object, 2I/Borisov was discovered, which is a comet. As 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov are the nearest macroscopic samples of interstellar material, the scientific returns from sampling the object are hard to overstate. Detailed study of interstellar materials at interstellar distances are likely decades away, even if Breakthrough Initiatives’ Project Starshot, for example, is vigorously pursued. Hence, an interesting question is if there is a way to exploit this unique opportunity by sending a spacecraft to 1I/’Oumuamua to make observations at close range.
Project Lyra and the Initiative for Interstellar Studies
Logo for Project Lyra
To answer these questions, the Initiative for Interstellar Studies, i4is, announced Project Lyra on the 30th October 2017. The goal of the project is to assess the feasibility of a mission to 1I/’Oumuamua, 2I/Borisov and other potential interstellar objects, using current and near-term technology and to propose mission concepts for achieving a fly-by or rendezvous. The challenge is formidable: 1I/’Oumuamua has a hyperbolic excess velocity of 26 km/s, which translates to a velocity of 5.5 AU/year. It will be beyond Saturn’s orbit within two years. This is much faster than any object humanity has ever launched into space. Compare this to Voyager 1, the fastest object humanity has ever built, which has a hyperbolic excess velocity of 16.6 km/s. As 1I/’Oumuamua is already on its way of leaving our solar system, any spacecraft launched in the future needs to chase it. The challenge to reach the object could stretch the current technological envelope of space exploration.
Initial Expiditous Results of Project Lyra
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