The First True Star Ship

Recently, the Voyager 1 spacecraft has returned data from the termination shock of the solar wind at a heliocentric distance of 94 AU. Beyond the shock is the heliopause, the pressure-balance interface between the plasma components of the solar wind and of the interstellar medium. Beyond that interface there may be an external shock before one reaches the "undisturbed" interstellar medium, but the properties of the interstellar medium remain elusive. To measure the properties of the VLISM, especially the magnetic field and low-energy cosmic rays, in situ sampling is required. Many formulations of a science rationale have been made for an "interstellar precursor" mission that would probe the nearby interstellar medium. In this NASA-supported Vision Mission study, we consider the implementation of a scientifically compelling precursor mission to the interstellar medium. Dubbed the Innovative Interstellar Explorer (IIE), the mission concept combines a compact payload, ~1000-kg (wet) class satellite, high launch energy, and electric propulsion. Four options are studied that combine various levels of risk and technical readiness for implementing this mission. Although not the first probe to escape the gravitational pull of the Sun, this would be the first mission for which the material between the stars is the destination. IIE will be bound for the stars, acquiring data on local interstellar conditions as long as it can. In this sense it really will be the first Star Ship.