Fermi Explorer
 Fermi Explorer Spacecraft Concept Image | |
| Country of origin | USA |
|---|---|
| Operator | The Fermi Explorer Mission |
| Applications | To travel to Alpha Centauri in 80,000 years |
| Specifications | |
| Spacecraft type | Spacecraft |
| Launch mass | 100kg |
| Dry mass | 30kg |
| Payload capacity | 1kg |
| Power | Solar electric propulsion |
The Fermi Explorer Mission is a proposed interstellar mission that plans to launch the first spacecraft to another star. The project aims to launch a spacecraft before the end of 2029 and to send the spacecraft at least 99% of the distance to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to the Sun. The proposed journey will take approximately 77,000 years, which arrives at the ecliptic plane intercept and is the optimum for least fuel and cost.
The mission is designed as a low-cost interstellar spacecraft, with a target budget of less than US$15 million for its design, construction, launch and operation.