Project Lyra

[5][6] Options suggested by i4is initially (which have now been superseded) for sending a spacecraft to ʻOumuamua within a time-frame of 5 to 10 years were based on a launch in 2021, and required travelling first to Jupiter to conduct a flyby, followed by a close solar flyby at 3 to 10 solar radii, in order to take advantage of the Oberth effect.

Launch years for these range between 2026 and 2033, depending on the chosen combination of gravity assists leading up to the Jupiter encounter.

To do this, decelerating the spacecraft at ʻOumuamua would be "highly desirable, due to the minimal science return from a hyper-velocity encounter".

[7][4] Seligman and Laughlin[13] adopt a complementary approach to the Lyra study, but also conclude that such missions, though challenging to mount, are both feasible and scientifically attractive.

[14] Initial research conducted by i4is indicated that a spacecraft with a mass of tens of kilograms, using a heat shield like that in the Parker Solar Probe, atop a Falcon Heavy-class launcher, with a trajectory including a powered Jupiter flyby and a Solar Oberth maneuver, was capable of reaching ʻOumuamua, had it been launched in 2021.