The BBC and the Guardian both carry stories about an unmanned interstellar spacecraft designed to reach the Alpha Centauri system "within a generation" (30 or so years).
The spacecraft would be miniaturised to the size of an average silicon chip, and be propelled by a solar sail which would receive a boost from a powerful laser on the Earth.
Milner's Breakthrough Foundation is running a project, backed by Hawking, to research the technologies needed for such a mission, which they think will soon be feasible.
takyon: The campaign is called Breakthrough Starshot. Breakthrough Initiatives also announced the release of initial observational datasets from the Breakthrough Listen 10-year SETI effort.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Wednesday April 13 2016, @05:24AM
I believe this is a preemptive strike on the evil beings in the Alpha Centauri system, as the chip will be loaded with as many different bacteria and viruses as possible [that are also likely to be viable upon delivery].
(Score: 2, Funny) by zoefff on Wednesday April 13 2016, @08:58AM
No, revenge, my dear, revenge.
Somewhere in 1914 emporer Franz Jozef thought that tsar Nicolas said something like: your mother is a ...., which, as we all know, started WW1.
Only recently, Stephen Hawkins found out that this was said through a tiny wormhole from the planet Esterion and therefore he proposes this giant interstellar fleet of warships to revenge ourself for WW1, WW11 and the fact he doesn't like peanutbutter.
That it means something quite innocent in the local language of the planet Esterion and that our fleet will be eaten by a little dog, is something we know, but he doesn't...