An Animated Guide to Humanity’s First Interstellar Mission
This animation from the Atlantic reveals how Russian venture capitalist Yuri Milner wants to use a solar sail to explore the cosmos and go into interstellar space. Human spaceflight to our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, won’t be happening for many, many years but that doesn’t mean we can’t send robots there.
The idea is that using a solar sail, a kind of weightless spaceship, and a powerful beam of light autonomous probes could travel the 4 light years to Alpha Centauri in 20 years. And the cost of each spaceship won’t be more than a smartphone.
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