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Project Chrysalis: Proposed spacecraft could carry up to 2,400 people on a one-way trip to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri (www.canva.com)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by nuko147@lemmy.world to c/space@mander.xyz

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Engineers have designed a spacecraft that could take up to 2,400 people on a one-way trip to Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to our own. The craft, called Chrysalis, could make the 25 trillion mile (40 trillion kilometer) journey in around 400 years, the engineers say in their project brief, meaning many of its potential passengers would only know life on the craft.

Chrysalis is designed to house several generations of people until it enters the star system, where it could shuttle them to the surface of the planet Proxima Centuri b — an Earth-size exoplanet that is thought to be potentially habitable.

This plan is purely hypothetical, as some of the required technology, like commercial nuclear fusion reactors, don't yet exist. However, hypothetical projects like this one can still add to our existing knowledge base and help engineers improve upcoming designs.

Their presentation on Canva

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[–] rimu@piefed.social 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This reminds me of Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein. The inhabitants of the ship descend into barbarism over several generations and eventually forget there is a universe outside the ship.

[–] nuko147@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

Yeah, i think psychology is the biggest danger. A lot could happen in 400 years. Look what happened here on earth since 1625. lmao