The 80,000-year mission to Alpha Centauri

Philip Johnston, Adi Oltean, Ezra Feilden, and program manager Garret Jameson intend to launch the mission in 2029 with a budget of $15 million. Unlike the ambitious, laser-propelled Breakthrough Starshot project—which sought to reach the nearest star within decades before collapsing in 2025—Fermi Explorer relies on existing rocket rideshare technology and electric propulsion. The vehicle will remain active for 12 years before entering a final, passive coast phase toward the star system.

"We are hell-bent on actually launching something in three years," Johnston stated. "The big difference is that other missions try to do it in a human lifetime, which requires billion-dollar R&D programs. We have very deliberately picked 80,000 years as the minimum viable mission." The team plans to solicit scientific and artistic payloads similar to those found on NASA’s Voyager probes. According to Johnston, the long-term structural integrity of the craft is a secondary concern, as he believes a metal vessel can withstand the radiation of interstellar space long enough for a future human civilization to recover it.