British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire Juri Milner have announced their intention to push ever deeper into space to search for intelligent life.
Joining the two in their "Breakthrough Starshoot" project are Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as well as an international team of scientists, engineers and astronauts.
The time has arrived for mankind to make its next big leap in history, the physicist, 74, and the investor, 54, told journalists, and new technologies offer this chance.
In the first phase of the project the group will pursue construction of a super-light spaceship that could travel through the cosmos at 20 per cent of the speed of light.
Data and findings from the project will be open for anyone.
The team said they have been in touch with US space authorities at NASA, and they are also seeking to work with Europeans.
Milner also sponsors the "Breakthrough Prize", one of the most valuable prizes for scientists, which is awarded in three categories each year.
In 2015 the Russian started the 100-million-dollar "Breakthrough Listen" project, that uses telescopes to search for signals of intelligent life from outside the solar system.
