Exploring the Galaxy using space probes

Abstract

This paper investigates the possible use of space probes to explore the Milky Way, as a means both of finding life elsewhere in the Galaxy and as finding an answer to the Fermi paradox. I simulate exploration of the Galaxy by first examining how long time it takes a given number of space probes to explore 40,000 stars in a box from -300 to 300 pc above the Galactic thin disk, as a function of Galactic radius. I then model the Galaxy to consist of $\sim 260,000$ of these 40,000 stellar systems all located in a defined Galactic Habitable Zone and show how long time it takes to explore this zone. The result is that with 8 probes, each with 8 subprobes $\sim 4$ of the Galaxy can be explored in $2.92\cdot 10^8$ years. Increasing the number of probes to 200, still with 8 subprobes each, reduces the exploration time to $1.52\cdot 10^7$ years.

6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by International Journal of Astrobiology (Published online by Cambridge University Press 20 Apr 2007)

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