An innovative telescope could help us discover habitable planets around Alpha Centauri. Funded by Breakthrough Watch (one of Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Initiatives), the TOLIMAN mission will soon enter its second phase. The Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer EnduroSat will help launch the mission’s telescope into space.
Aside from overseeing the Breakthrough Initiatives, the Giving Pledge signatory Yuri Milner co-founded the Breakthrough Prize and has authored the short book Eureka Manifesto. Like Eureka Manifesto, his Breakthrough Initiatives explore the big questions of the Universe, such as whether life exists on other planets.
Why Search for Habitable Planets Around Alpha Centauri?
When it comes to finding planets across vast reaches of the galaxy, humans have developed some amazing technologies. Despite this, we know relatively little about the planets just beyond our Solar System (called exoplanets). If there are rocky, Earth-like worlds nearby, could they sustain primitive alien life?
The Alpha Centauri star system is our most immediate neighbour. The system has two stars like our Sun, and either could host habitable exoplanets. Scientists have already discovered one planet orbiting in the “Goldilocks zone” of the system’s third star. Rocky planets in these zones have temperatures that could allow for liquid surface water and organic life.
What Makes the TOLIMAN Mission Unique?
Space telescopes like NASA’s Kepler mission have found most of the distant exoplanets we know about. Unearthing exoplanets closer to home will take more finely tuned instruments. This is where the TOLIMAN (Telescope for Orbit Locus Interferometric Monitoring of our Astronomical Neighbourhood) mission comes in — with funding from Breakthrough Watch.
The project involves a new type of telescope that uses a non-conventional lens. Its mirror diffracts starlight into a complex, flower-like pattern. This pattern makes it easier for astronomers to detect whether planets are orbiting a nearby star.
Israeli billionaire Yuri Milner founded the Breakthrough Foundation, which supports the mission. The Foundation finances various philanthropic projects, including the Breakthrough Initiatives and Breakthrough Prize. Many know the Breakthrough Prize as the “Oscars of Science” or the world’s biggest scientific award.
Could Humanity Become a Spacefaring Civilisation?
The TOLIMAN mission is paving the way for investigations into the existence of aliens. Astronomers will use powerful observatories to analyse any exoplanets that the mission finds for signs of life.
These nearby planets could then become the targets of future spaceflight missions. It’s unlikely that humans will travel to Alpha Centauri in person any time soon. But we could “take our first steps into interstellar space using high-speed, futuristic, robotic probes.”
The Breakthrough Starshot programme is developing proof of concept for these probes. Founded in 2016 by Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking, and Mark Zuckerberg, Starshot plans to launch a flyby mission to Alpha Centauri. The $100 million project could enable uncrewed spaceflight at 20% of the speed of light, reaching the star system within a generation.
Learn more about Yuri Milner’s Breakthrough Initiatives.
About Yuri Milner
Yuri Milner started his career as a scientist. Although his career has taken interesting turns, science and space exploration are still amongst his primary areas of interest. When he joined the Giving Pledge in 2012, he vowed to give a large portion of his wealth to scientific causes.
In his Giving Pledge letter, Yuri Milner writes about the “human adventure” that has only just begun. He adds: “I am hereby joining Giving Pledge to invest in our leading minds and our shared future.”
Yuri Milner elaborates on this idea in his short book Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation (2021). He argues that humanity’s shared mission should be “to explore and understand our Universe.”
To advance this mission, Eureka Manifesto proposes a five-point plan. This plan includes investing in space exploration and celebrating scientists as heroes. Yuri Milner contributes to both through his Breakthrough Prize and Breakthrough Initiative efforts.
Eureka Manifesto is available to read online for free.
