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Experimental Fusion and Solar Sail Concepts Aim to Reach Sedna in Under a Decade

A preprint outlines two mission profiles harnessing controlled fusion thrust or photon-driven acceleration to seize Sedna’s 2076 perihelion opportunity

© This is an artist's impression of noontime on Sedna, the farthest known planetoid from the Sun. Credit: NASA
An artist's impression of a nuclear spacecraft.
Image

Overview

  • An Italian-led team published an arXiv preprint detailing Direct Fusion Drive and advanced solar sail concepts that could cut Sedna mission time to seven to ten years
  • The fusion propulsion design under development at Princeton’s Plasma Physics Laboratory would generate continuous thrust and onboard power through controlled nuclear reactions
  • The solar sail proposal uses thermal desorption coatings and a Jupiter gravity assist to accelerate a lightweight spacecraft toward Sedna in as little as seven years
  • Fusion propulsion could enable orbital insertion for extended study, whereas the solar sail approach is limited to a fast flyby
  • Both mission concepts face unresolved engineering hurdles—plasma stability, heat management, structural durability and radiation resilience—delaying formal planning and funding