In 2012 the Voyager 1 probe became the first man-made object to enter interstellar space, traveling "further than anyone, or anything, in history".
This is an astonishing feat and one that took 35 years to achieve.
But if we are ever to get to go beyond the reaches of the heliosphere again we can’t really wait that long again.
So, how might we get there?
Jason Benkoski, a Materials Scientist specializing in Planetary research at John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory joined Jonathan to discuss.
Listen and subscribe to Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
  
Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.
  
You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.