Project Hyperion: What's the plan to take humans beyond the solar system on a journey of no return?

The Hyperion Project is committed to manned interstellar travel with a prototype spacecraft capable of traversing space for centuries . Conceived as an autonomous ecosystem , it will allow different generations to develop, reproduce, and die within it, ensuring the continuity of the mission until reaching Proxima Centauri b .

What's distinctive about Chrysalis is that it doesn't aim to be an ark to rescue humanity from possible extinction, a vision promoted by Elon Musk with his plans to colonize Mars. Its purpose is to serve as a scientific base for exploring beyond the solar system. The mission is designed for pioneers with a vocation for exploration, willing to embark on an interstellar odyssey.

Although this ambitious experiment may never materialize , it opens the door to exploring other worlds and rekindles discussions about pending developments like nuclear fusion. This energy source will be essential for long journeys, where weightlessness accelerates the deterioration of human bones and muscles.

Chrysalis is a spacecraft designed by engineers chosen as winners of the Hyperion competition. Its modular structure, inspired by Russian nesting dolls, combines areas for living, working, and growing food. The entire system operates with artificial gravity , allowing for a space experience closer to life on Earth.

This enormous spacecraft, consisting of a 58-kilometer tubular structure, was designed for a one-way trip to Proxima Centauri b, an exoplanet located 4.24 light-years away with characteristics comparable to those of Earth. Its cylindrical front section serves to mitigate the impact of micrometeorites and reinforces its stability during acceleration and braking.

Life on Chrysalis would be arranged in concentric circles, while the "Cosmos Dome" would be outside this circularity. This 130-meter -high, 360-meter-diameter dome would detach upon reaching its destination. Thanks to its panels, it would be the only point of visual contact with the outside universe.

It is estimated that more than a thousand people will dedicate their lives to the mission, with descendants following them over a four-hundred-year journey, divided into seven stages .

The first, which lasts about eight decades , involves selecting the founding crew and subjecting them to training in extreme isolation conditions at Antarctic bases, where they will learn to forge cultural identity and shape collective rules that will make coexistence possible in a harsh environment.

For the remaining quarter of a century, the gigantic craft would be assembled at the Lagrange Points (located on the Moon, 326,400 km from the Earth's center), avoiding gravitational disturbances and utilizing the natural satellite's mineral resources.

Simulated gravity would be achieved through rotation, which seeks to reduce physical strain and replicate the Earth-bound experience. Life on board would be sustained through closed systems that recycle water, air, and nutrients . Food would combine plant crops, fungi, insects, and small animals.

After launch, the ship would take about a year to reach full acceleration and would continue for nearly four centuries at cruising speed. Inside, there is room for some 2,400 colonists , and living quarters would be organized into concentric rings that would integrate housing, agricultural areas, and artificial habitats designed to sustain the food supply.

Today, space propulsion is the greatest limitation for reaching destinations beyond the Moon. With chemical rockets, a trip to Mars—in the most favorable window—takes about nine months, or eighteen months including return, despite the fact that the distance is only 50 million kilometers . Given this scale, the distances to neighboring star systems are overwhelming.

Alpha Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, is 4.3 light-years away. Even traveling at the speed of light, the journey would take four years. With a conventional rocket, like those used in the Apollo program, it would take more than 6,700. Among all the unknowns of interstellar travel, propulsion remains the biggest obstacle.

The Chrysalis spacecraft aims to travel at 1.07% of the speed of light, which is 17 times faster than the Parker probe's record of reaching 690,000 km/h.

The propulsion would come from a direct fusion reactor fueled by helium-3 and deuterium, still in the conceptual phase. To put the difference into perspective, in four centuries of travel, Parker would have only advanced 6% of its planned distance.

The heaviest jobs would be performed by robots, and that won't be the only option, as the plan includes combined governance between humans and AI.

To reduce conflicts arising from a lack of inputs, reproduction would be regulated, keeping the community within a number that the system could sustain. Reusing materials becomes essential, and the entire habitat would be powered by nuclear fusion reactors to fuel the structure.

The history of this project dates back to 2012, when researchers founded i4is, a non-profit organization in the United Kingdom. Among its proposals is Hyperion, which brings together experts from different disciplines and nationalities to design a spacecraft that will travel beyond our Sun.

Blue Origin is joining the Martian spacecraft with a key satellite: the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO), which will bolster NASA's mission to reach the Red Planet in 2028. This vessel, built on the Blue Ring platform, is ready to deploy high-speed communication between neighboring planets.

The MTO will be the heart of a robust orbital network. It will carry high-band directional links and UHF satellites in low Martian orbit, ensuring coverage for current robotic assets and future entry, descent, and landing missions.

The MTO's hybrid propulsion—combining electrical and chemical systems—extends the launch window and reduces risks in adverse conditions. It can carry up to 1,000 kilograms of payload into Martian orbit, maximizing its strategic utility for NASA.

Blue Origin isn't just banking on hardware: the MTO features edge processing capabilities, data storage, and integrated artificial intelligence. It's a living infrastructure, designed to adapt to future scientific demands and exploratory operations on Mars.