For the moment, the space goals of the human species are overall modest: return to the Moon in a few years, and then think about the first visits to Mars. But if really the destiny of our species – as they keep repeating the longtermists a la Elon Musk – is to become an interplanetary civilization, sooner or later we will have to start setting more ambitious goals. And to do this, there are only two possibilities: invent a propulsion system that allows us to travel faster than the speed of light, or equip ourselves for very, very long journeys in outer space.
While waiting for some revolutionary discovery that opens the door to the first solution, the second is for now the most realistic (or the least fantastic). And it is the subject of a contest that the Hyperion Project has just launched: the prize is $10,000, which will be distributed among the top three finishers. The goal of the competition is to design a “generation ship”, that is, a self-sufficient spacecraft capable of transporting several generations of astronauts on a long journey to another star system, based on concepts and technologies available, or to come.
Currently, space propulsion systems are the main limitation to the exploration of celestial bodies farther away than the dear old Moon. With conventional rockets, a one-way trip to Mars in the most convenient launch window takes about 9 months. 18 if a return trip is also planned. And we are talking about covering a distance of only about 50 million kilometers. To explore Earth’s stellar neighbors, the distances are immeasurably greater.
Alpha Centauri, the closest star to our Sun, is located about 4.3 light years from our planet. Traveling at the speed of light would take a few years. At the speed allowed by a normal space rocket, such as those used by NASA’s Apollo mission to go to the Moon, the trip would take more than 6,700 years. Of the many uncertainties of interstellar travel, therefore, propulsion technology remains the most binding for now.
At best, even systems that are still entirely theoretical, such as nuclear propulsion, plasma engines or even the idea of powering solar sails by firing a laser from our planet, the journey would take decades or, more likely, centuries. , and therefore it would be impossible for a human crew to complete it. Hence the alternative: build a ship equipped to support generations of astronauts, on a one-way trip whose end will only be seen by the great-grandchildren of the colonists who abandoned Earth. Again, of course, this would require a multitude of technologies and technical solutions yet to be invented. But unless we can improve space propulsion systems (and it is by no means certain that this will be possible in the short term), there is nothing more we can do.
A space ark
The competition that the Hyperion Project has just launched aims precisely to stimulate the development of concepts for a generational ship that allows thousands of people to survive during a solo trip through space. It is requested to leave out technological aspects such as the engines or the structural design of the ship, and focus only on the habitat that should accommodate the astronauts, in its architectural and social aspects.
The rules They require that the proposals be prepared by a multidisciplinary team, which includes at least an architectural designer, an engineer and a social science expert (psychologist, sociologist, anthropologist or other). And that the design meets a series of parameters. The hypothetical journey of the ship must last 250 years (enough to reach the vicinity of Alpha Centauri going at a speed of up to 2% of the speed of light, in any case several orders of magnitude faster than any technology currently in use. development). The arrival planet must be a rocky planet already equipped with a previously implemented artificial ecosystem, which does not pose problems for the survival of the crew once on land.
The ship must also have artificial gravity (obtained by rotation, as in 2001, a space odysseyor in some other way). It must have an atmosphere similar to that of Earth and protect its inhabitants from radiation and microasteroid impacts. And it must be designed to comfortably accommodate a crew of between 1,000 and 1,500 people throughout the voyage. Obviously, the ideas presented should try to minimize the weight of the structure and equipment with which the ship will be equipped, guarantee access to food and all the resources essential for survival. And detail the social structure that will be created in the crew, taking into account that it must survive for several generations, and thus guarantee the transmission of knowledge and wisdom to the new human beings who will be born far from their ancestral home.
So you can participate
The projects will be evaluated by Project Hyperion staff, a team of experts made up of architects, engineers, anthropologists and urban planners, many of whom have worked with ESA and NASA in the past. The $10,000 prize is sponsored by the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4is), a British non-profit organization dedicated to finding new solutions for robotic and human exploration of stars and exoplanets.
For those interested, registration closes on December 15, while the first deadline for project submission is February 2, 2025. The second, for final projects, is May 4. For more information, Visit the initiative’s website.
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