---
title: "Proposed Mission Would Explore Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua"
description: "A proposed mission would explore the first-ever object that astronomers spotted cruising into our solar system from interstellar space."
date: "2020-03-15"
modified: "2020-03-15"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/proposed-mission-explore-interstellar-object-oumuamua"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "`oumuamua"
  - "Astronomy"
  - "space"
---

# Proposed Mission Would Explore Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua

![A proposed mission would explore the first-ever object that astronomers spotted cruising into our solar system from interstellar space.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/proposed-mission-explore-interstellar-object-oumuamua.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: European Southern Observatory / M. Kornmesser\</em\>*

## Mission Achievable

Remember 'Oumuamua, the first-ever object from interstellar space that astronomers spotted cruising through our solar system? Now a team of scientists has proposed a mission to explore it, [*Wired* reports](<https://www.wired.com/story/should-earthlings-chase-oumuamua-into-interstellar-space/>).

"We now know such a mission, at least in principle, is achievable," Initiative for Interstellar Studies representative Adam Hibberd told the magazine.

## Space Chase

The proposed mission, which the Initiative for Interstellar Studies calls Project Lyra, would face extraordinary challenges, ranging from the logistical to the financial to, well, pure physics.

For one thing, *Wired* points out, 'Oumuamua is [currently careening](<https://futurism.com/interstellar-rocks-form-earth>) back out of the solar system — and every additional year, it travels approximately the same distance as a trip from Earth to Jupiter away from us.

## Head Start

Counterintuitively, Hibberd and his colleagues propose waiting to launch the mission to 'Oumuamua until the year 2030, when they say Jupiter will be in a position to slingshot a mission toward the distant object at incredible speeds.

An added bonus of waiting: They told *Wired* we may spot an [easier-to-access interstellar object](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/interstellar-rock-hit-earth-2014>) during that 10-year wait — meaning the resources could then be diverted into a different mission.

**READ MORE:** [Should Earthlings Chase ‘Oumuamua Into Interstellar Space?](<https://www.wired.com/story/should-earthlings-chase-oumuamua-into-interstellar-space/>) \[*Wired*\]

***More on 'Oumuamua:*** [Harvard Astronomer Defends Hypothesis That Object Is Alien Probe](<https://futurism.com/alien-probe-harvard-astronomer-oumuamua>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)