Private group wants to launch "cheapest possible" mission to Alpha Centauri

"We could really be facing the great filter."

The short version

• There are, by various estimates, several trillion planets within what is known as the Local Group of galaxies—our closest galaxy neighbors, including our own Milky Way.
• Many of these planets are within the habitable zone of their stars.
• So if life finds a way, where are the alien civilizations?

What happened

This is the crux of what is known as the Fermi paradox , which posits that if life is fairly common in the Universe, humans should have collected credible evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations by now. People who think about this paradox believe there may be some “filter” that limits or entirely prevents an advanced civilization from sending out probes or even life-bearing spacecraft to nearby stars.

Why it matters

Philip Johnston is someone who thinks a lot about the Fermi paradox.

Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.