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NASA Selects a Wild Plan to "Swarm" Proxima Centauri With Thousands of Tiny Probes (www.sciencealert.com)

submitted 10 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/astronomy@mander.xyz

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[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

As Universe Today explored in a previous post, it would take between 19,000 and 81,000 years for a spacecraft to reach Proxima Centauri using conventional propulsion (or those that are feasible using current technology)

Jesus, at 4.25 light-years.

[–] GlitchyDigiBun@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Acceleration is a bitch. A manned flight would take longer as it would have to cap it's thrust to 1-1.5G or risk long term effects. Not to mention having to cancel ALLL of that thrust starting at the halfway point.

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 3 points 10 months ago

Biology is frustrating. We're built for everything except leaving the immediate area around the sea we crawled out of. Anything beyond that and our bones melt into cancer.

[–] Flyberius@hexbear.net 0 points 10 months ago

If you could maintain 1g of acceleration you would reach light speed in about a year.