Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner are teaming up on a $100 million quest for alien life - called Breakthrough Starshot - that they claim will hinge on a team of tiny spacecraft called nanocrafts created for the purpose of exploring the universe.
Along with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the team will head the philanthropic initiative towards its goals of space exploration and the discovery of life in the outer reaches of our universe.
"I think you and I will be happy to see the launch," Milner said. "We came to the conclusion it can be done: interstellar travel."
Astronomers believe that the "habitable zones" of Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to the Earth, could possess an Earth-like planet, giving scientists and researchers hope that they might discover life in this region.
Breakthrough Starshot is aiming to launch thousands of its tiny light-propelled nanocraft into space, and hopes to reach the Alpha Centauri star system - located approximately 4.37 light-years away from Earth - in about 20 years.
The unique nanocraft are designed to fly at 20 percent the speed of light, by utilizing a sail that is propelled by a light beam, giving it a huge leg up on the current spacecraft on of the market.
Using current spacecraft technology, it would take approximately 30,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri.
"Earth is a wonderful place, but it might not last forever," Hawking said. "Sooner or later, we must look to the stars. Breakthrough Starshot is a very exciting first step on that journey."
Hawking and the team plan to equip the nanocraft with cameras, photon thrusters, power supplies and communication equipment, among other things.
After a 20-year journey to Alpha Centauri, the team believes that it will take about four more years for any information that the spacecraft gather in the region to make its way back to the Earth.
The program, which is expected to take a few years to complete, will be headed by Pete Worden, former director of the NASA AMES Research Center, along with a committee of renowned scientists and engineers from all over the world.
In addition to Breakthrough Starshot, Milner also has another $100 million invested in a 10-year SETI initiative called Breakthrough Listen.
