The research is about finding low-cost paths through the solar system, not interstellar space. The dynamics of the solar system are very well understood, and all of the important gravitating bodies are known (there isn't any significant dark matter inside the solar system, by the way). You just have to do some heavy-duty computations to take advantage of all that.
Slashdot Mirror
The research is about finding low-cost paths through the solar system, not interstellar space. The dynamics of the solar system are very well understood, and all of the important gravitating bodies are known (there isn't any significant dark matter inside the solar system, by the way). You just have to do some heavy-duty computations to take advantage of all that.