I understand that it is not ‘practical’; that is not what I am asking.
I understand the sheer distance and time frame involved.
I also understand it is possible to launch things outside of our solar system.
Is it the ‘functionality’ of a device over many, many of years in the environment of space? If so in what way?
Is it the ability to ‘hit’ a target you aimed at many, many years ago?
Is it some other limitation?
I had sort of asked an ‘aiming’ question a while back and think it might be a bigger limitation than physical durability. I was thinking you could perhaps figure out a way to accelerate your load on the front end and set up some sort of permanent ‘drag’ device so that it would match speed with your target by the time it arrived.
To limit all functions to the front end of the journey so you wouldn’t have to perform some function en route or at the end. Slow yes, but I’d give it more chance than a flip and deceleration or course correction a thousand years from launch.
Zero-one: I don’t think I’d put biological creature on/in it with current technology; we really haven’t even ironed out travelling past the moon there I think. 🙂
Mike: Okay, so maybe "drag" was a poor choice of words. Would a "very small particle beam mounted on the nose" that had been set up to run continuously be a better choice of words?
Or, some sort of large surface that could use the impact with minute amounts of things over thousands of years to slow your progress?
