-snip- I've missed the rationale why 'something' has to be sent there.Sounds like a job for new telescope technology.
Why stop at Proxima b? Consider the design requirements for any such mission;1- A giant curtain array and a large optical telescope for observation2- Advanced star tracking that can orient itself in interstellar space3- Nuclear power and a layered approach to propulsion4- The ability to identify and avoid objects as well as estimate and navigate multiple gravitational bodies. Due to the distance, whatever the last course changes Earth sends based on the information the probe gathered before that, the spacecraft will have to modify or ignore the instructions and chart itself based on updated and enhanced data. It may bend itself around smaller planets and the star, but should steer clear of large planets, their systems and the gravitational consequences avoidance maneuvers would have on trajectory.With such capabilities just to get to Proxima b, the capability exists to fly through the system, around the star and onto another. Here's three missions, each about fifteen lightyears long.A) to Alpha Centari= 4.365ly , to Luhman 16= 3.673ly , to WISE 0855-0714= 6.005ly ; Total = 14.057lySolar masses of 1.10, 0.907 and a 0.123 Red Dwarf + 0.045 and 0.040 Brown Dwarfs + a 0.0059 sub-BDB) to Sirius= 8.583ly , to Procyon= 5.200ly , to Luyten's Star= 1.120ly ; Total = 14.903lySolar masses of 2.02 and a 0.978 White Dwarf + 1.50 and a 0.602 White Dwarf + a 0.26 Red DwarfC) to Epsilon Eridian= 10.522 , to Tau Ceti= 5.450 ; Total = 15.972lySolar masses of 0.82 + 0.783, both with habitable planetary systems
I like it. How does one go about demonstrating the requirement for a 100+ year service life with the spacecraft and ground support facilities while maintaining the budget below 1 trillion? Software and hardware is practically obsolete within 3 years. Maybe the idea is shoot a swarm of objects toward proxima B?
Budget of about a trillion dollars is to be expected for an interstellar mission.But for beamed propulsion, these aren't one-shot missions but a stream of them.
just for grins and giggles......does anyone remember articles about weird radio signals coming from the vicinity of Ross 128 earlier this year?
Quote from: Stormbringer on 11/16/2017 08:40 pmjust for grins and giggles......does anyone remember articles about weird radio signals coming from the vicinity of Ross 128 earlier this year?http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=43363.40
Ignoring the geostationary satellite hypothesis for this anomalous signal;
Quote from: Stormbringer on 11/17/2017 12:43 am Ignoring the geostationary satellite hypothesis for this anomalous signal;Why would we ignore that? It is pretty definitely the cause ...--- Tony
...You're no fun at all.
Quote from: Stormbringer on 11/17/2017 09:09 am...You're no fun at all. Ross 128 b is reasonably interesting, but as I said in the thread you linked, I think the habitability is overblown.Right now, we can find out *much* more about Proxima b, even though it doesn't transit, and it is a much more realistic target for probes (partly thanks to alpha Centauri A/B)In general, "habitable zone" causes too much excitement, particularly around M dwarfs: tidal locking and volatile/atmosphere loss ... but we still need to look at them. Extremely exciting times.--- Tony
i always thought the risk was akin to going out into a thousand mile wide desert in which there is some desert plant every KM or so and putting a blindfold on spinning in circles and throwing a rock and expecting it to hit a plant. the odds as i have read them were akin to 1 probable hit per square meter of the probe or spaceships frontal cross section per day by a dust mote or smaller sized impactor. a postage stamp sized probe is a lot less in frontal dimensions to a meter square object used to make the calculations. furthermore; its riding a freaking laser beam of sufficient power to accelerate it to a modest fraction of the speed of light. which means most of the laser beam precedes the probe and smacks the ever loving stuffing out of everything in front of it. T om e the real problems with the scheme are communications (getting the data back from the probes at a strength that can be detected at planet earth.) and having enough sensor diversity and resolution to get a reasonable amount of knowledge back for the price.Because scientists have now made picometer scale error correction possible for telescopes and interferometers. (just announced last week in the popular science media websites.) This means we can examine an aliens tonsils from earth if there are any. seriously it means they can screen out a small planets reflected light from its parent star for several hundred light years and may be able to do multi platform optical interferometry.