Guide To Space - Project Dragonfly. A Laser-Powered Probe to Alpha Centauri
Guide To Space - Project Dragonfly. A Laser-Powered Probe to Alpha Centauri  
Podcast: The 365 Days of Astronomy
Published On: Wed Mar 11 2026
Description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=598UtgxFd1E From Jan 6, 2019. The distances between stars are so vast, it's hard to wrap your mind around it. Even our far flung Voyagers have barely reached interstellar space, and would take tens of thousands of years to get to even the nearest star.   But scientists and engineers are considering what it would actually take to send a spacecraft to another star. It's called Project Dragonfly, and would use existing or near future technologies to send a 3,000 kg spacecraft to Alpha Centauri within 100 years.    Project Dragonfly paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576517319136?dgcid=rss_sd_all   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.