Going to Alpha Centauri

Sending a probe to Alpha Centauri, the star system about 4½ light years away, is possible. The best time estimate is a voyage of about 5-10 years for a small probe having no instruments. The most likely way of sending a probe to the star group - it actually consists of three stars - is to first send a dumb probe having no instrumentation and as little mass as possible. By reducing mass, human-created relativistic speeds can be attained for the first time outside a particle accelerator. Such a probe would create detectable perturbations as it approached Alpha Centauri.

Though it would not collect information about the star because it would have no instrumentation, such a project would be valuable to say the least. It would be the first space probe accelerated to relativistic speeds, and it would be the first to reach Alpha Centauri. It would have the psychological benefit of making the planets seem much more accessible because they are relatively near Earth.

In a recent Associated Content article entitled, Five Real Life Possibilities for Interstellar Travel to Other Stars, D. Vogt presents an informative review of some of the proposals for sending a probe to Alpha Centauri. As Vogt explains, a major problem is the tremendous distance, and another is how to accelerate the probe.

Robert Forward was a pioneer in this field who first wrote on the subject in the early 1960's. His early work appeared in specialized technical journals. Later, he disseminated his concepts in science fiction novels. As Vogt points out, Forward advocated using beamed energy propulsion to send a probe to Alpha Centauri. That approach has the advantage that the spaceship does not carry its fuel; any ship carrying fuel would be prohibitively large for approaching relativistic speeds.

Another early leader was G. Marx of Hungary, who disclosed his calculations concerning an interstellar mission in a Nature paper from July, 1966.

Any interested party wishing to contract on proprietary information in order to build such a probe is welcome to contact A. Collins. Such a project, while demanding and expensive, is certainly feasible. It would be rewarding for its contribution to science and its technological value.