'Wild' interstellar probe mission idea gains momentum
With the goal of reaching 145 billion kilometres (90 billion miles) from the Sun, the proposed robotic explorer would push the limits of engineering knowhow and space technology, advocates say.
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, is leading an international look at this prospect with a team of scientists and engineers studying a mission to the virtually unexplored space beyond our Sun's sphere of influence.
“Overall I think the study is progressing well and will provide some good and solid input for the next
Decadal Survey round,” said APL's Ralph McNutt, interstellar probe study leader and principal investigator.
The Decadal Survey is based on studies led by the US National Academies to provide a science community consensus on new undertakings in NASA space science and exploration.
Interstellar probes and interstellar precursor missions are not new, McNutt explained, “but have lacked traction with policymakers and the scientific community at large because of the states of both scientific knowledge and engineering realities”.
Moreover, he explained that the next step in reaching to the stars will require the recognition of engineering limits, scientific trades and scientific compromises, “but this is new neither in science nor exploration. Such a step would be an interstellar probe. The time for that step has come.”