--- title: "It’s Official: NASA Is Considering an Interstellar Mission" description: "A group of researchers are eager to get back to exploring the far reaches of the universe and send a probe on a NASA mission into interstellar space." date: "2019-10-31" modified: "2019-11-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-considering-interstellar-mission" categories: - "NASA" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "Interstellar" - "interstellar space" - "the digest" - "voyager" --- # It’s Official: NASA Is Considering an Interstellar Mission ![A group of researchers are eager to get back to exploring the far reaches of the universe and send a probe on a NASA mission into interstellar space.]() *\Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\* ## Going Interstellar A group of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory are eager to send a probe into interstellar space, [*Wired* reports](). Pending NASA's approval, they claim the project could launch as soon as 2030. It could represent "humanity’s first explicit step into interstellar space," as team member at the Applied Physics Laboratory Pontus Brandt told *Wired*, years after Voyager 1 became the [first-ever human-built spacecraft]() to reach interstellar space. ## Rocket Plan The basic outline of their proposal, which arose out of a [NASA supported interstellar probe study]() last year, is to launch a spacecraft that weighs less than 1,700 pounds on NASA's upcoming — but [much delayed]() and [over budget]() — Space Launch System rocket. It would then use gravity assist to sling it to speeds over 100,000 miles per hour — fast enough to leave the Solar System. The goal is to travel 92 billion miles from Earth in less than 15 years. In comparison, it took almost 40 years for Voyager 1 and 2 to get to just 13 billion miles. ## Leaving the Heliosphere While Voyager 1 and 2 were only outfitted with basic instruments, the proposed spacecraft will be have a host of sensors that could gain a better understanding of interstellar space — which remains largely mysterious to today's scientists. And leaving the heliosphere, the bubble-like region of space around the Sun, could provide additional opportunities. "We’re sitting inside a bubble trying to figure out what shape it is, which is extremely hard," Brandt told *Wired*. "The uniqueness of an interstellar probe is that we can go out and take a picture of our habitable little bubble in space." **READ MORE:** [NASA Is Getting Serious About an Interstellar Mission]() \[*Wired*\] **More on interstellar space:** *[After the Moon and Mars, NASA Wants to Head to Alpha Centauri in 2069]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()