Overview
- The Fermi Explorer Mission publicly unveiled the plan on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, and immediately opened vendor bids, payload solicitations and a fundraising drive.
- The flight profile relies on repeated close passes to the sun—a perihelion‑pump discovered with AI assistance—using solar electric propulsion to reach roughly 24–25 km/s after about 12 years of active maneuvers.
- After the active phase the probe would coast ballistically to Alpha Centauri, arriving in about 77,000–80,000 years while operating only during the first dozen years and remaining a passive time capsule thereafter.
- The spacecraft is designed around a 10×10×10 cm, ≥1 kg shielded payload that could carry micro‑etched cultural items such as a copy of the Voyager Golden Record and small scientific detectors, with tracking expected only out to about Jupiter.
- The nonprofit aims to limit mission costs to about $15 million, says it has early verbal support including a reported $10 million offer, is talking with NASA, expects a likely SpaceX rideshare and remains contingent on completing fundraising and vendor contracts.