I4IS

How to Reach Interstellar Visitors, Optimum Interplanetary Trajectory Software Adam Hibberd An article I wrote for Principium, quarterly publication of the ‘Initiative for Interstellar Studies’, several years ago now, not long after the first interstellar object p…

@i4interstellar.bsky.social

My latest blog details how my software works at a basic level, and explains how I used it to solve the problem of sending a mission to catch the interstellar object 1I/'Oumuamua:

adamhibberd.com/2026/02/07/h...

This might be of interest to @adamsspaceresearch.bsky.social

We've just sent this link to Mike McCulloch, he explains the non-viable orbits with his Quantised Inertia theory ... he may or may not be correct, we keep an open mind !
( He's banned from Wikipedia, his blog is at physicsfromtheedge.blogspot.com )

Interesting, and perhaps of interest to @adamsspaceresearch.bsky.social ?

We're posting here content from older newsletters, join us at www.i4is.org/members for the latest.

Dec-25 [2] : this content is already here on Bluesky, see below.

The authors describe self-consistent scenarios for future Earth technospheres as analogs for extraterrestrial technospheres....

Intercepting Interstellar Objects We describe how the ESA Comet Interceptor mission, which is due to launch in 2028/29 to a yet-to-be-discovered target, can provide a conceptual basis for a future mission to visit an Interstellar Obje...

As elsewhere, we'll post here content from older newsletters, join us at www.i4is.org/members for the latest.

Dec-25 [1] : A paper by Colin Snodgrass describes how the ESA Comet Interceptor can provide a conceptual basis for a future mission to visit an Interstellar Object
arxiv.org/abs/2512.00492

We're not sure about the science, but Mike McCulloch has spoken on QI at our events in the past ... and if he's right, interstellar travel becomes much easier !

Here's an interesting concept that promises 'easy interstellar propulsion' ...

Home - Interstellar Research Group Interstellar Research Group Our 7th Interstellar Symposium will be taking place September 25-27, 2021 (with pre-symposium seminars taking place on the 24th) in Tucson, AZ at the Tucson Marriott University Park. This symposium will directly follow the NASA NIAC symposium at the same hotel, and will t…

Explore how we can become an interstellar species! Watch Michael Nayak's keynote at the IRG 2025 Symposium: https://youtu.be/hq4cQVSiow4 #IRG2025 #InterstellarSymposium #MichaelNayak

YouTube video by NASA Space Tech Swarming

Here's a short (2 minute) NASA video on a laser-driven interstellar swarm, published a few months ago...

( Thanks to @bargill33.bsky.social for the link !)

youtu.be/XXW_keR5OIM?...

Here's another 'Interstellar' video from @isaac-arthur.bsky.social ...

Image of magazine cover and descriptive text.

The November issue of our Principium magazine is out now !

Many thanks to our new editor Gill Norman @bargill33.bsky.social and her team for all their hard work, they are introduced in the text.

Read it all here : i4is.org/principium-51/

@isaac-arthur.bsky.social !

YouTube video by Isaac Arthur The First Interstellar Colony - Humanity’s Leap Beyond Sol

Here's a great video from Isaac Arthur covering many aspects of Interstellar colonisation...

- What Counts as Interstellar?
- Transport and Survival
- Nearby Candidates
- How Might We Do It?
- Sleeper Ships
- Interstellar Relays
- Cloning and Digital Migration

youtu.be/r1VZVmnIZDg?...

The Interstellar Research Group is offering three $2,500 scholarships for undergrad, master’s, and doctoral students advancing humanity’s path to the stars. Apply by Dec 15, 2025, at 5 PM EST. Learn more: https://irg.space/scholarships/2026-scholarships/
#IRG #STEM #Scholarships

The Interstellar Research Group is now accepting 2026 scholarship applications for undergrad, master’s, and doctoral students in the U.S. Three $2,500 awards for those shaping humanity’s future among the stars. Apply by Dec 15, 2025: https://irg.space/scholarships/2026-scholarships/
#IRG

Shape humanity’s interstellar future. The Interstellar Research Group seeks visionary leaders to join its Board of Directors. Help guide the global pursuit of interstellar flight and exploration. Apply by Dec 10, 2025: https://ow.ly/glbc50XpLNt
#SpaceLeadership #IRG

YouTube video by Spacedock Five Realistic Interstellar Designs

This describes five ideas for interstellar travel.
As a spoiler, in summary...

- Brute-force 'Project Daedalus'
- Laser Sail
- Bussard Ramjet
- Antimatter 'Project Valkyrie'
- the 'Light Hugger'

Other concepts involve breaking physics, these (just) avoid that. Comments?

youtu.be/xJSO-ptwYxw?...

Issue 50 of Principium is now published

- Lead Feature : BOOK REVIEW, The Ross 248 Project.
- Project Hyperion
- Breakthrough Disc
- "Where do you look for ET"
- IAC25
- The Journals
- Interstellar News
.. and more !
Read it here : - i4is.org/principium-50/

Editor: @johninghamdavies.bsky.social

My latest starship blog for the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (@i4interstellar.bsky.social):

i4is.org/3i-atlas-the...

(PDF) Intercepting 3I/ATLAS at Closest Approach to Jupiter with the Juno spacecraft PDF | The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is expected to arrive at a distance of $53.56(\pm 0.45)$ million ${\rm km}$ ($0.358\pm 0.003$~au) from Jupiter on... | Find, read and cite all the research you n...

My paper with Avi Loeb and Adam Crowl on the subject of bringing Juno as close to 3I/ATLAS as possible:

www.researchgate.net/publication/...

🌌 Announcing the Winners of the Project Hyperion Design Competition 🌌 ... hosted by i4iS.

Can we imagine a society that thrives on the journey to the stars?

🏆 Winners

🥇 Chrysalis
🥈 WFP Extreme
🥉 Systema Stellare Proximum
Plus 10 mentions...

Full details are here : www.projecthyperion.org

BIS West Midlands Branch: Flying to a Potentially Hazardous Object - A Mission of Gravity - The British Interplanetary Society How might humanity send a mission to explore or even deflect a potentially hazardous object (PHO)? A PHO is a celestial body, usually an asteroid, which regularly intersects Earth’s orbit and, dependi...

Our astrodynamicist @adamsspaceresearch.bsky.social is presenting on "Flying to a Potentially Hazardous Object..." on 20Sep25 with T Marshall Eubanks, hosted by the BIS.

They'll present research into a mission to PHO 2024 YR4, which may hit the Moon in 2032.

www.bis-space.com/event/bis-we...

Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology? At this early stage of its passage through our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS, the recently discovered interstellar interloper, has displayed various anomalous characteristics, determined from photometric and...

Here's an interesting paper by our member @adamsspaceresearch.bsky.social et al.
There's been criticism that it proposes alien origin for 3/Atlas, but it says that is not so : it's an academic exercise mentioning our habit of seeing pattern in randomness.

Please comment!

arxiv.org/abs/2507.12213

Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology? At this early stage of its passage through our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS, the recently discovered interstellar interloper, has displayed various anomalous characteristics, determined from photometric and...

Go to my starshp blog for i4is which can be found here:

i4is.org/wp-admin/pos...

It raises a hypothetical question and mentions the various evidence in favour. It emphasises that the investigations are merely a pedagogical exercise. @i4interstellar.bsky.social

Preprint:

arxiv.org/abs/2507.12213

Here's a recent video from @hoojiwana.bsky.social talking about the recent 'Pulsar Fusion' publicity.
Are his conclusions correct ? Or will Pulsar take us to the stars ?
Comments are welcome !!

This could be interesting, especially if
@adamsspaceresearch.bsky.social can find a good spacecraft rendezvous option ...

Inflatable sails offer steep savings in mass & enable larger payloads. I look today at deep space concepts involving this technology, & new studies on using inflatable structures for exoplanet research via a starshade. www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/06/11/i...

2025 - Austin, Texas - Interstellar Research Group Distant Worlds, Neighboring Opportunities An Interstellar Research Group EventOctober 12-15, 2025 AT&T Conference CenterUniversity of Texas at Austin CALL FOR PAPERS REGISTER TODAY HOTEL RESERVATION I...

Registration is open for the 9th Interstellar Symposium in Austin, Texas, 12-15 October 2025.

irg.space/2025-irg-9th...

Exciting voluntary role for anyone interested in science and/or publishing! Do you have experience with layout software (eg Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Publisher, etc) or are learning how do document design? We need a new voluntary Layout Editor for our quarterly online magazine Principium. We will provide the software for you and can provide basic training to fulfil this role if required. The editorial team will supply the written content; you will be responsible for putting it all together into the pdf ready for publication. Join our commitment to expanding humanity’s horizons! Please get in touch with us asap by emailing gillian.norman@i4is.org; we'd love to see a brief summary of your skills and experience and it would be great to hear why you want to help!

Here’s the details Principium is a quarterly magazine published since 2012 by the Initiative & Institute for Interstellar Studies (www.i4is.org). It's published as a PDF on the i4is website www.i4is.org/Publications/Principium and in print for major conferences. It goes to about 1,000 aerospace professionals, academics and interested lay people in countries around the word including many in the US and UK. The layout role is to create the PDF of each new issue using the existing issue as a start point. We currently use Adobe InDesign, which is a widely used document layout tool (https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/indesign.html) but alternatives would be OK. The commitment would be to about 4-5 days work each quarter depending of course on existing expertise. The current Principium Editor, John Davies, is ready to provide initial guidance plus support for the first issues and the incoming Editor, Gill Norman, would be coordinating the work with the rest of the team. The role would suit anyone with design talent and enthusiasm for this creative work. We would welcome expressions of interest from students seeking to gain experience and enhance their CVs. But we would also be very pleased to hear from others who wish to diversify their careers or are seeking interesting work post-retirement. This is a pro bono (unpaid) role but agreed expenses would be paid, including software licences.

Exciting voluntary role !
Do you know layout software?
We need a new voluntary Layout Editor for our quarterly online magazine Principium. We provide the software and training.
The team will supply the content; you would put it all together.
Join our commitment to expanding humanity’s horizons!