2 September 2026
Nonprofit launches spacecraft toward nearest star by 2029
First reported
CNET and MIT Technology Review ran this on , a day before the next source picked it up.
- Fermi Explorer Mission plans to send a one-kilogram spacecraft to Alpha Centauri, 4.4 light-years away, arriving in roughly 80,000 years.
- An AI system called Get Physics Done, developed by physics research lab PSI, discovered a novel orbital path that uses the sun's gravity to reduce fuel needs.
- The mission costs $15 million and will carry artistic payloads, scientific data, and a copy of the Golden Record from NASA's Voyager probes.
- Unlike an earlier 2016 attempt by billionaire Yuri Milner that never launched, this team prioritizes actually getting a spacecraft into space over speed.
How it was covered
The AlgorithmMIT Technology Review
Fermi Explorer Mission announced a mission to launch a spacecraft to our nearest star system, 4.4 light-years away, using a novel trajectory discovered by an AI system developed by PSI physics research lab. The journey could take up to 80,000 years.
Reported by MIT Technology Review, CNET