Published September 2013
| Published
Journal Article
Open
Commentary: Let's send the DOE to Alpha Centauri
- Creators
- Kite, Edwin
- Howard, Andrew W.
Abstract
The announcement of an Earth-mass planet orbiting the closest Sunlike star has renewed discussion of the costs and benefits of an interstellar probe. The planet, Alpha Centauri Bb, is in an extremely hot orbit, but its existence increases the probability that a planet with a liquid-water ocean orbits Alpha Centauri. Data from NASA's Kepler telescope now show that there are about as many habitable-zone, Earth-sized planets as stars, and in April NASA decided to fund a follow-up spacecraft, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Before this decade is out, we will probably discover an ocean-bearing planet orbiting a nearby star. When we do, should we send a mission?
Additional Information
© 2013 American Institute of Physics.Attached Files
Published - PT.3.2095.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 42971
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20131212-082327916
- Created
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2013-12-12Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field