Interstellar Travel: Navigating the Challenges and Exploring Future Possibilities

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Interstellar travel entails the use of systems to travel between planets and stars.  It is very different from interplanetary travel. The latter is associated with traveling between planets of the solar system for which the distance is smaller as compared to that between stars of planets within different galaxies. The distance is usually measured in astronomical units, and a single unit is usually compared with the distance between the earth and the sun. In most cases, the astronomical units between planets within the solar system is below thirty AU and is, therefore, possible to travel through spaceflight systems. However, between stars or between planets win different galaxies the distance is more than hundred thousand Astronomical units. The distance between stars and planets in different solar systems is measured by the unit of light years. It is the most convenient unit of measuring distance within galactical scales. These are very vast distances to travel, and thus interstellar travel would require speeds of light to accomplish such travels. They would also require a lot of time to reach destinations (The Physics of Interstellar Travel, 2017).

These speeds that are required cannot be accomplished within the human lifetime and what spaceflights provide regarding movement and propulsion is insufficient to meet the needs of such great distances. In today’s world, the standards used for producing energy have not reached the levels needed to accomplish interstellar travel. Another factor is that at such high speeds collisions with objects in space even as minute as space dust may prove very disastrous to such travel. Despite these challenges, great efforts by scientist all over the world look at interstellar travel as possibilities and scientists are trying to develop a mechanism that may make it possible (Nogrady, 2016).

Despite the limitations of interstellar travel, there have been some developments in interplanetary space travel. This is a simpler form of travel that is confined to the solar system. The distances between planets within the solar system is less than thirty astronomical units, and this makes such travels possible. Scientists have used space probes to fly to various planets such as Neptune Mercury, and some have even managed to leave the solar system. Most of these travels have been by remotely controlled probes. Scientists have also sent crafts that orbit planets and others that land on them and have been sent to gather information about the planets for which they have to send the information back to earth. As of today, no manned spaceship has ever been sent to planets within the solar systems. However, NASA developed a space program called Apollo which was responsible for landing 12 people on the moon. The mission also brought all of them back to the earth. There have been other attempts of space exploration. President Bush established the Vision for Space Exploration which is a long-term goal aimed at de3veloping means to send people to Mars. There are many reasons for interplanetary travel. Scientists believe that these travels would help provide information about the nature of these planets and help us understand our world better. Some people believe that these travels \could one day allow the human race to extract minerals from planetary bodies or energy from other sources within the solar system. There is also the belief that these explorations could help the human race to colonize other planets and extend the race beyond the earth or the solar system itself (Nogrady, 2016).

The above describes the developments made in interplanetary travels and not interstellar travel which is far from being a feasible endeavor because of limited technology and energy for such long-distance travel. Despite such limits, scientists have tried to develop technological measures. One of them is the development of space probes that are microscopic. These are technologies that offer a chance of propulsion beyond the solar system and can be effective in reaching other planets in the different solar system. However, they have not yet been established, and this is because of the need for more advancement in technology and developing them to be fully capable of taking on interstellar missions. Propulsion systems have also been on the great level of studies because they have a great potential. Developing a high source of energy capable of offering propulsion for great distances is also a great priority for many scientists. One of these propulsion methods involves the use of nuclear propulsion. It is based on the promises of the atomic age, and that is the access to great levels of energy within a very short time.  Nuclear reactions are great sources of energy. This energy is mostly used for the generation of power and the development of atomic weapons. However, they have great potential for the development of propulsion systems s capable of powering interstellar space crafts. The use of nuclear energy for propulsion is already in use with different machines. It is used in ships and submarines and can be converted for use in space stations because of the high quantity of energy it can provide. Another speculative method includes the use of propulsion by use of beam power (Tate, 2013).

There are also theories that have been developed with the view that there may be a possibility of interstellar travel. The theory of application of black holes is a good example. It involves the harnessing of Hawking radiation after artificially developing a black hole. It involves developing technologies that can be used to convert the Hawking’s radiation into energy and offer thrusts capable of pushing spacecraft’s faster than the speed of light.  Another theory is associated with the use of wormholes.  These are distortions of space-time and can be used to bend space and time. The use of wormholes can allow the joining of two points within the universe using a bridge. The Einstein and Rosen Bridge can be used to connect these two points. The wormhole acts like a tunnel that is mostly held together by the assumptive quantity known as negative energy. Wormholes create distortions that can allow people to travel great distances to the galaxies at a very short time. An example is whereby movement between two points would be faster than the time it will take light to travel between the points (Tate, 2013).

In the world of today, interstellar travel remains a work of fiction. The technology and energy of today are incapable of allowing such long-distance travel. The technical limitations are very many. However, travel to space is still possible but only limited to the solar system. So far humans have managed to reach the moon through the Apollo missions. Substantial attempts have been put in place to enhance technical capabilities that would allow people to travel to other planets and beyond (Nogrady, 2016).