A nonprofit called the Fermi Explorer Mission plans to launch a spacecraft toward the Alpha Centauri star system by the end of 2029, using a novel flight path calculated by an AI system built by physics lab PSI. The mission, though launched this decade, could take the probe as long as 80,000 years to reach its destination 4.4 light-years away. Separately, MIT Technology Review highlighted how AI models have rapidly improved at solving New York Times Connections puzzles, jumping from 18% accuracy in late 2024 to near-perfect scores by early 2025.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-02
A nonprofit team led by Starcloud co-founders Philip Johnston, Adi Oltean and Ezra Feilden is developing the Fermi Explorer, a 1-kilogram, 10-centimeter cube meant to be the first human-made object aimed at another star system. The probe would spend 12 years spiraling closer to the sun to build speed before exiting the solar system in the early 2040s, then travel roughly 79,800 years before reaching Alpha Centauri.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-01
The nonprofit Fermi Explorer Mission, led by Philip Johnston, has spent a year designing a low-cost interstellar spacecraft meant to actually launch toward Alpha Centauri, unlike Yuri Milner's stalled Breakthrough Starshot project. Facing a persistent engineering puzzle over powering a lightweight solar craft without adding excessive weight, the team turned to artificial intelligence tools to help chart a viable trajectory. The mission, backed by private donors and budgeted at $15 million, plans to carry a small payload including art, messages, and a copy of the Golden Record.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-01
A small nonprofit founded by Philip Johnston, Ezra Feilden, and Adi Oltean has detailed plans for a low-cost interstellar probe called Fermi Explorer, aiming to launch within three years for a journey to Alpha Centauri that would take roughly 80,000 years to complete. The team, which released an 81-page plan document, is funding the effort through crowdfunding donations and branded merchandise sales rather than government or corporate backing.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-01
Philip Johnston, co-founder of the orbital data center company Starcloud, has joined other entrepreneurs to announce the 'Fermi Explorer' project, aiming to raise $15 million to build and launch a small spacecraft carrying a 1-kg payload toward Alpha Centauri. The stated goal is to have the probe reach that star system in under 80,000 years, testing assumptions behind the Fermi paradox about why humanity hasn't detected extraterrestrial civilizations.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-01
Starcloud founders Philip Johnston, Adi Oltean, and Ezra Feilden, along with program manager Garret Jameson, have unveiled Fermi Explorer, a nonprofit aiming to send a 1-kilogram spacecraft toward Alpha Centauri using existing space technology. The mission, budgeted at roughly $15 million and targeting a 2029 launch, would take about 80,000 years to reach the star and would be the sixth object to leave our solar system after Voyager and its peers.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-01
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