Would you board a spacecraft that takes 400 years to reach Alpha Centauri?

An artist's rendition of the spacecraft Chrysalis

(Image credit: Giacomo Infelise, Veronica Magli, Guido Sbrogio', Nevenka Martinello and Federica Chiara Serpe)

Imagine leaving Earth forever and boarding a spaceship designed to carry you and thousands of others on a one-way trip to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri — a journey that could take 400 years.

This is the bold vision behind Chrysalis, a hypothetical spacecraft that could transport 2,400 people over 25 trillion miles (40 trillion kilometers) to the exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. The project won first place in the Project Hyperion Design Competition on July 23, a contest among engineers to design a hypothetical multigenerational spacecraft built for long-duration interstellar travel and capable of sustaining a closed society over centuries.

Although this plan is purely hypothetical, it leaves a pressing question for us all: Would you be willing to join this extraordinary journey? Take our poll and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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Elise studied marine biology at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. She has worked as a freelance journalist focusing on the aquatic realm. Elise is working with Live Science through Future Academy, a program to train future journalists on best practices in the field.

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