How many times have we dreamed of traveling in deep space to extremely “exotic” places, thanks to the many science fiction films and above all after the various discoveries of Earth-like planets. Could we ever really embark on such a journey? Let’s see what an expert on the subject thinks.
Dr. Hank Pernicka, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Missouri S&T, quickly set the record straight by stating: “This certainly will not happen in our lifetimebut it is still fascinating to discuss it”.
“If we take as an example TOI 700, a similar exoplanet recently discovered by NASA, is 100 light years away from us. This means that if we develop a spacecraft that can travel at the speed of light, it would still take 100 years to reach that destination“.
On the other hand, one of the most important obstacles to overcome is precisely that of allowing a human vehicle to reach the speeds required for interstellar travelconsidering that the speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second and, according to Pernicka, an expert in the design of space vehicles, we are still very far from this goal.
“Also, when traveling at extreme speeds, there would also be considerations a large number of variables. For example, even a small fragment in the trajectory of the spacecraft could cause a huge amount of damage.”he added.
Also the way the spacecraft is powered is a highly important unknown. Currently, any long-distance mission designed by NASA would use nuclear energy, but that fuel source would eventually run out.
“Think about Voyager 1. It embarked on an extraordinary journey way back in 1977, exceeding all NASA expectations, traveling over 20 billion km at 610,000 km/h, but which are still nowhere near the distance of even a light year”Pernicka explained.
Perhaps, according to the expert, the key to one day reaching the necessary speeds may lie in the solar navigation conceptwhich would allow spacecraft to move using solar radiation pressure.
Or, another option, albeit more complex and science fiction, could be using a wormhole“Theoretically it would work. But we would need to develop a spacecraft capable of surviving the journey, which could be very violent,” Pernicka explained.
Unfortunately, however many and fascinating the ideas are, none of the options would still be a feasible possibility in the near future.
Staying on topic, did you know that interstellar travel could create new human languages?
