A Mission to Reach the Solar Gravitational Lens in 30 Years

NASA supports crazy ideas in astronomy and space exploration. The institute has supported many different projects since it was re-established in 2011. Three projects have received funding for Phase III. A mission to get a telescope that can see biosignatures on nearby exoplanets is described in a white paper.

JPL got $2 million in funding because Slava Turyshev was the principal investigator on the first two phases. The white paper describes a mission concept in more detail and explains what technologies already exist and need further development.

There are a number of striking features of this mission design, one of which is detailed over at Centauri Dreams. Instead of launching a large craft that would take a long time to travel anywhere, the proposed mission would launch several small cube-sats and then self-assembly.

There is a straight line between the star the exoplanet is around and the one on the other side of the Sun. It is much farther than the measly 156AU that Voyager 1 has taken. It takes almost half the time to get three times the distance. It will plunge into the Sun.

It's a tried and true method to amplify the Sun's rays. The fastest human-made object of all time was theParker Solar probe. The expected speed at which this mission would have to travel isn't easy and it would be even more difficult for a fleet of ships.

Solar sails don't do well when subjected to the intensity of the Sun that would be required for a slingshot. The electronics on the system would have to be more resistant to radiation than they are today. Both of these problems have the potential to be solved.

One obvious problem would be how to coordinate a passage of multiple satellites through this sort of gut-wrenching maneuver and still allow them to join up in the end. There will be enough time to rejoin the single Cubesats into a cohesive whole.

A better image of an exoplanet is likely to come from that cohesive whole. More than 50 exoplanets have been found in the habitable zones of their stars, so which would be the best candidate if the mission moves forward? That is not a sure thing as of yet. There is no indication that the mission will get any funding in the future. It would take a lot of technologies to make such a mission possible.

This one has more potential impact than most, and that's because it always starts that way. At some point in the next few decades, we are likely to receive an image of a potentially habitable exoplanet as a result of luck. The groundwork for this idea was laid by the team behind it.

You can learn more.

The focal region of the solar gravitational lens is the location of the mission architecture.

In-Flight Assembly and Sailcraft are part of the solar guratational lens.

Astronomy Jargon 101 is about telescopes.

Scientists talk about a telescope that could image planets.