The Fermi Explorer Mission is an ambitious project that aims to launch the first spacecraft deliberately targeted at another star system by 2029, for under $15 million. This mission is a bold attempt to explore the possibilities of interstellar travel, despite the fact that it will take 80,000 years to reach its destination. The spacecraft will be aimed at Alpha Centauri, a three-star system located about 4.4 light-years away. The mission's unique approach is to use existing technologies and let time absorb the remaining difficulty, rather than inventing propulsion powerful enough to cross the vast distance in decades. This strategy makes the mission inexpensive enough to attempt. The spacecraft will spend about 13 years using solar-electric propulsion near the Sun, escape into interstellar space around 2043, and then coast for almost 80,000 years. The mission's success is defined as completing at least 99% of the distance to Alpha Centauri, rather than flying close to either star. The payload is designed for discovery, not a radio call home, and includes passive devices that might preserve a physical record even after all onboard power is gone. The craft is also expected to carry a microscopic copy of the Voyager Golden Record, artistic contributions, and short messages chosen by children around the world. The mission's founders hope that later interstellar travellers will overtake the spacecraft and eventually recover it. The Fermi Explorer Mission is a testament to human ingenuity and our desire to explore the unknown, even if it means leaving the task to future generations. It raises a deeper question: what does it mean to be human, and how far are we willing to go to explore the universe?
