Interstellar Travel: Navigating the Challenges and Exploring
Future Possibilities
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).
References
Nogrady, B. (2016). Is reaching alien planets
outside our Solar System actually possible, and if so, how would it work?
Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161003-the-myths-and-reality-about-interstellar-travel
Tate, K. (2013). How
Interstellar Space Travel Works . Retrieved from
https://www.space.com/17619-how-interstellar-travel-works-infographic.html
The Physics of
Interstellar Travel. (2017). Retrieved
from http://mkaku.org/home/articles/the-physics-of-interstellar-travel/
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