StarShot

Space Missions

Breakthrough Starshot Takes to Space

Six Sprites, "the world's smallest spacecraft" have entered low-Earth orbit, a small milestone for Breakthrough Starshot's plan for interstellar voyage.

Breakthrough Starshot - screengrab of laser acceleration video

Exoplanets

Could Spacecraft Make it to Proxima Centauri?

Dust and gas between stars would pose a threat to spacecraft en route from Earth to the Alpha Centauri system — and scientists are seriously considering the problem now that the prospect of interstellar travel is no longer sci-fi.

Breakthrough Starshot - screengrab of laser acceleration video

Space Missions

$100 Million for Fast Probes to Alpha Centauri. Yes, Really.

Yuri Milner commits $100 million to Breakthrough Starshot, a research and development project toward sending interstellar nanoprobes to Alpha Centauri.