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This topic is available for NewMars members who might wish to collect links, images and text about a slow flight to Alpha Centauri.
This ship would carry 2400 passengers and crew for 400 years at 10% c
Propulsion would be achieved using a fusion drive, for which an animated video is provided.
Reproduction would be managed, as would the entire flight.
The lead off post #3 will contain text from an article published in August of 2025 by Futurism.
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Post #3: opening article on Chrysalis 2400 passenger star voyage
Post #5: Video showing animation of fusion drive
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https://www.yahoo.com/tech/science/arti … 53247.html
Futurism
Scientists Design Huge Spacecraft That Could Carry 2,400 Colonists to Alpha Centauri
Victor Tangermann
Mon, August 11, 2025 at 4:11 PM EDTA team of engineers has come up with designs of a 36-mile spacecraft, dubbed Chrysalis, designed to carry up to 2,400 passengers to Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own.
As first spotted by Live Science, the ambitious vision recently won the team the top prize at the Project Hyperion Design Competition, which was launched last year by an international consortium of scientists, engineers, and urban planners.
Unsurprisingly, Chrysalis sounds like it was yanked straight out of a sci-fi novel. The hypothetical habitat generates Earth-like gravity by constantly rotating around its own axis, as laid out in a project brief. Several onion-like layers include dwellings and gardens for inhabitants, warehouses, food production and ecosystems, and communal spaces.
Each of these shells is powered by nuclear fusion reactors — which, it's fair to point out, is tech that hasn't been yet been made practical by anybody here on Earth.
Chrysalis is made up of several stages, each of which is a "fully autonomous and complete" habitat.
The layer closest to the core was designed to provide space for plants, microbes, livestock, and other mechanisms of food production. Various environments allow biodiversity to continue, including tropical and boreal forests.
The second layer houses communal spaces, and the third holds "3D-printed dwelling modules." The outermost shell serves as a warehouse for machinery, equipment, and other types of resources.
A "Cosmos Dome," 426 feet in height and 1,180 feet in diameter, provides a controlled, zero-gravity environment, as well as thermal insulation and shielding from deep space radiation.
It's also the only place where inhabitants can gaze at the universe outside, while freely and safely floating around in weightlessness.
"Through the transparent panels of the dome, the inhabitants will be able to observe the universe to the rear of the spaceship," the brief reads.
Since Chrysalis is a generational ship, the goal is to give both male and female inhabitants a three-year window between the ages of 28 and 31 to reproduce. There's a two-child limit for each inhabitant, "not necessarily with the same partner," according to the brief.
The goal is to maintain a "stable population" of roughly 1,500 individuals over three generations.
An artificial intelligence would allow for "resilience of the whole social system, better knowledge transfer between the different generations of inhabitants and a deeper vision of the overall dynamics of the Chrysalis spaceship complex," the pitch reads.
While it's a fascinating and detailed vision of an exciting, multi-generational journey to a different star system, Chrysalis is still firmly in the realm of science fiction.
Beyond the pesky issue of nuclear fusion not yet existing in a practical form, the manufacturing processes required to build a tens-of-miles structure in zero gravity far surpass anything humanity has accomplished yet. We haven't even fully explored the concept of artificial gravity with the help of a centrifuge.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't explore the concept — especially in the face of various potential disasters that could threaten humanity's future on Earth.
More on generational ships: Researchers Plotting Giant Spaceship That Could Carry Generations of Humans
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I asked Google about Chrysalis..
AI Overview
Space ark will travel to Alpha Centauri for 400 years
The Chrysalis starship is a concept for a massive, multigenerational spacecraft designed to carry 2,400 people on a 400-year journey to Proxima Centauri b. It was the winning design in the Project Hyperion Design Competition, which challenged participants to create a realistic interstellar ark using current or near-future technology. The Chrysalis is envisioned as a self-sufficient habitat, with layers of rotating cylinders providing artificial gravity and various functions like resource management, manufacturing, and living spaces.
This video provides an overview of the biggest spaceships in fiction:
and ....
Here's a more detailed look at the Chrysalis:
Interstellar Journey:
The primary goal of the Chrysalis is to reach Proxima Centauri b, a potentially habitable planet in the Proxima Centauri system.Multigenerational Living:
The voyage will take approximately 400 years, requiring the ship to be a self-sustaining habitat for multiple generations.
Rotating Cylinders:
The core of the design features rotating cylinders that generate artificial gravity, mimicking Earth's conditions.
Modular Structure:
The ship is designed with a modular, layered structure, with each layer serving a specific purpose like resource management, manufacturing, or living quarters.
Habitability:
The design includes features like hydroponic farms, recreational areas, and community spaces to support the psychological and physical well-being of the inhabitants.
Advanced Technologies:
The concept incorporates advanced technologies like radiation shielding, in-space manufacturing capabilities, and robotic systems for resource management.
Psychological Preparation:
The design also includes a thorough psychological screening and preparation process for the crew, recognizing the unique challenges of interstellar travel and long-term isolation.
Sociocracy:
The design incorporates a "sociocracy" model for decision-making, emphasizing collaboration and community involvement.The Chrysalis represents a significant step in thinking about interstellar travel, combining innovative engineering with a deep understanding of the human and social aspects of such a monumental undertaking.
and ...
https://www.projecthyperion.org/
Team
Fatemeh Mosavi, Nafise Etemadi Idgahi, Saeed Vahdani, Negar Radfar, Elham Yousefi, Ahmad Eltaf Zhian, Mobina Fallah Gavareshk, Fatemeh Barzegar, Negar Ahmadpour, Ali Seddighi, Mahdieh Hosseinpour
Jury feedbackThis submission offers an interesting and ambitious design, with modularity as a core concept—an approach that generally supports flexibility and resilience. It stands out as one of the most integrated proposals seen so far, demonstrating strength across architecture, engineering, and social systems, and embodying the spirit of envisioning a generation ship that balances speculative vision with system-level coherence. The DNA-shaped vessel and the arrangement of globular habitats linked in a spiral pattern are visually and conceptually intriguing. The pressure vessel design is solid, and the artificial gravity approach appears generally sound, though some visual elements—such as people walking on the zero-g core cylinder walls—may overstate the effective gravity in those areas. The abundance of AI-generated images contributes to a striking but somewhat disjointed presentation; many visuals lack clear correspondence to detailed drawings. The mission control center design also feels somewhat unconventional, with its wide floor facing a circular windshield, which may merit further reconsideration. Overall, the submission impresses with its ambitious scope and integration. It may benefit from clearer technical documentation and tighter alignment between visuals and engineering details.
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Here's a bit more detail. Apparently there is a video that might be available to illustrate the concept.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKJKEQqcjAo
This animation shows how the fusion drive might work.
I asked Gemini to dive into the Internet to see what it could find:
Conversation with Gemini
Chrysalis flight plan - Hi Gemini! Thank you for all the assistance you have provided for numerous requests. This one is just a look up request, so I'm hoping it will be easier than some. Chrysalis is a design concept for a 400 (Earthyear) journey to Alpha Centauri. It quick summary i have seen so far does not include details about how the vessel would be accelerated the start of the journey or decelerated at the end. I wonder if you might have access to resources to answer those questions?
The Chrysalis spacecraft, a conceptual design for a 400-year journey to Alpha Centauri, is intended to use a Direct Fusion Drive propulsion system. This system would be fueled by helium-3 ( 3 He) and deuterium ( 2 H), and would be used for both acceleration at the beginning of the journey and deceleration at the end.
Propulsion System and Mission Profile
The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) system would generate a continuous acceleration of 0.1 g (0.98m/s 2 ), allowing the spacecraft to reach approximately 10% of the speed of light (0.1 c). The mission plan includes a year-long period of acceleration at the start of the journey and another year for deceleration as the spacecraft approaches the Proxima b planet in the Alpha Centauri system. The rest of the 400-year journey would be spent in a coasting phase.The DFD system is a theoretical concept that, if developed, could generate both the necessary thrust and electrical power for the long journey. Chrysalis is a design concept that won the Project Hyperion Design Competition, which asked for a realistic multi-generational ship using current or near-future technology. The designers chose a simple, cylindrical shape to minimize structural stresses during the acceleration and deceleration phases.
This video discusses the challenges of interstellar travel and mentions the Breakthrough Starshot initiative, which is another project aimed at reaching Alpha Centauri.
The 10% c helps to explain the 400 year journey time.
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