Name: How humanity can reach the stars
Uploaded: 2020-09-25T14:46:55Z
Duration: 8 min 21 s
Description: Could we exit our solar system, and enter another? Astrophysicist Philip Lubin discusses the awesome potential of using lasers to propel small spacecraft, enabling humanity's first interstellar missions. Learn how this transformative technology could help us reach Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our own -- and fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe along the way.

Could we exit our solar system, and enter another? Astrophysicist Philip Lubin discusses the awesome potential of using lasers to propel small spacecraft, enabling humanity's first interstellar missions. Learn how this transformative technology could help us reach Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our own -- and fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe along the way.

Philip Lubin: How humanity can reach the stars

How humanity can reach the stars

Harnessing lasers for spacecraft propulsion could make interstellar travel to Proxima Centauri possible in under 20 years.

The technology leveraging photonics for data transmission is pivotal in enabling interstellar missions through laser arrays.

Exploring exoplanets could reveal evidence of life, fundamentally altering our understanding of the universe and our place within it.