If you're a fan of science fiction, chances are you encountered a few franchises where humanity has spread throughout the known Universe. The ships that allow them to do this, maybe they use a warp drive, maybe they "fold space," maybe have a faster-than-light (FTL) or "jump" drive.
It's a cool idea, the thought of "going interstellar!" Unfortunately, the immutable laws of physics tell us that this is simply not possible.
However, the physics that govern our Universe do allow for travel that is close to the speed of light, even though getting to that speed would require a tremendous amount of energy.
Those same laws, however, also tell us that near-light-speed travel comes with all sorts of challenges. Luckily for all of us, NASA addresses these in a recently-released animated videothat covers all the basics of interstellar travel!
To summarize, according to the immutable laws of physics (specifically, Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity), there's no way to reach or exceed the speed of light.
This means that if you're going to attempt interstellar travel, your best bet is to either settle in for the long haul (i.e. a Generation Ship) or find a means of propulsion that can allow for constant acceleration until a fraction of the speed of light (relativistic speed) is attained.
For the sake of this video, titled "NASA's Guide to Near-light-speed Travel" (shown above), it is assumed that the interstellar traveler (who appears to be an alien creature) has built a spacecraft that is capable at traveling at 90 percent the speed of light (0.9 c).
The video is presented as an information video for an interstellar traveler. It is introduced with the following message:
"So, you've just put the finishing touches on upgrades to your spaceship, and now it can fly at almost the speed of light. We're not quite sure how you pulled it off, but congratulations! Before you fly off on your next vacation, however, watch this handy video to learn more about near-light-speed safety considerations, travel times, and distances between some popular destinations around the universe."
Putting aside the question of how the spacecraft is able to reach this kind of speed, the video then moves directly to tackle the big issues that come with traveling around in a relativistic Universe.
These include time dilation, the need for shielding in the interstellar medium, and how long it would take to travel to even the nearest destinations, like the nearest star (Proxima Centauri) the nearest galaxy (Andromeda), or the farthest one (GN-z11).
Admittedly, these challenges are pretty tough and the greatest scientific minds in the world are still looking for a work-around. A good example is Breakthrough Starshot, an initiative that hopes to send a laser-powered lightsail to Alpha Centauri in the coming years. Relying on directed-energy propulsion, the proposed spacecraft would reach 20 percent the speed of light (0.2 c) and make the trip in just 20 years.
Naturally, this plan involved considerable research into the hazards of interstellar travel and led to some creative solutions of how to deal with them.
These include (but are not limited to) shielding, communications, the types of cameras and instruments that would yield the best scientific returns, the type of sail employed, and the shape of the sail itself, and how the spacecraft would slow down once it gets there.
In the meantime, it is good to have educational resources that let people know the scientific realities that underlie (or in many cases, undermine) our favorite franchises!
It's also helpful when it comes to aspiring physicists and scientists who hope to see interstellar travel happen within their lifetimes. You have to know what the challenges are if you're planning on beating them!
The video was the work of scientists and media experts from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Goddard Media Studios (GMS). The effort was led Chris Smith, a multimedia producer and member of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) within Goddard's Astrophysics division. He was joined by fellow-USRA member Krystofer Kim, who was the video's lead animator.
NASA Goddard has also made shorter clips of the video and printable postcards available for download here:https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13653
This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.
Originally posted here:
This NASA Animation Shows What It's Really Like to Travel Close to The Speed of Light - ScienceAlert
- A Real Life Hibernation Chamber is Being Made For Deep Space Travel - Futurism - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Humans to be FROZEN IN TIME for space travel as scientists move to COLONISE other planets - Express.co.uk - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Space flight changes astronauts' brains, research reveals - Fox News - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Space travel changes DNA, study finds - STLtoday.com - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Space travel visionaries solve the problem of interstellar slowdown ... - Science Daily - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Quantum Entanglement May Be Key To Long Distance Space Travel Ex Lockheed Exec Said It's Already Happening - Collective Evolution - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Is This Buzz Aldrin-Inspired Locomotive The Future Of Space Travel? - Forbes - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Celestial bodies: The Kelly twins offer a vital sign for space travel ... - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Space travel visionaries solve the problem of interstellar slowdown at Alpha Centauri - Phys.Org - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Newspaper review: Heartthrob and space travel in Wednesday's papers - BBC News - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Another View: NASA's Twins Study offers vital sign for space travel - Press Herald - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Piece of tragic shuttle history gets a second chance at space travel - WQAD.com - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Meet Shawn Pandya, The Third Indian-Origin Woman To Space-Travel - Huffington Post India - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Shawna Pandya clears the air on rumours of space travel - Daily News & Analysis - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- The Expanse and Frankie Adams: Meet the Kiwi who's conquered space travel - Stuff.co.nz - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Did a CSU study find that space travel makes you younger? Not so ... - The Denver Post - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Twins study offers valuable data on space travel - Herald-Whig - - Herald-Whig - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- The Expanse and Frankie Adams: Meet the Kiwi who's conquered space travel - Waikato Times - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Kelly twins offer a vital sign for space travel - San Angelo Standard Times - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Lacoste delves into the world of space travel at New York Fashion Week as Baptista honours founder's lesser-known ... - Evening Standard - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- NASA's Irish Twins Study reveals first results of space travel on humans - IrishCentral - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Starbound to revamp space travel in future update - PC Gamer - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- How Does Long-Term Space Travel Affect Humans? - Voice of America - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- A VR Company is Attempting to Make Holographic Videos for Space Travel - Mobile Magazine - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Two-Time Space Traveling Astronaut to Speak at Black History ... - Patriots Point - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Make space travel great again: NASA, heeding Trump, may add astronauts to a test flight moon mission - National Post - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- In recently unearthed essay, Winston Churchill anticipated space travel and extraterrestrial life - The Providence Journal - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Twins in space: intergalactic travel could change DNA - The Student - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- An unearthed essay reveals Winston Churchill anticipated space travel and aliens - Stuff.co.nz - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Focus Friday: The necessity of space travel - The Daily Cougar - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- NASA announces $2m investment on technology advancement for deep space travel - WDSU New Orleans - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Focus Friday: The necessity of space travel - The Daily Cougar - The Daily Cougar - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Ask Ethan: How Can I Travel Through Space Without Getting Into Trouble? - Forbes - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Do You Have The Right Personality For Long-Term Space Travel ... - Seeker - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- In recently unearthed essay, Winston Churchill anticipated space travel and extraterrestrial life - Washington Post - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- UK bids to be world leader in Space travel by 2020 - Daily Star - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Know before you fly: privatized space travel - Observer Online - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- You could fly to SPACE from the UK within three years as plans are for space port are unveiled - The Sun - February 21st, 2017 [February 21st, 2017]
- Cosmic cinema: spurring interest in real-life space travel? - Miami Student - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- Commercial space travel could be ready as early as 2020 - New York Post - February 22nd, 2017 [February 22nd, 2017]
- This Finnish startup democratizes space travel and it just raised over 3 million to find the next 'Slumdog ... - Business Insider Nordic - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Commercial space travel WITHIN THREE YEARS on flights to launch from BRITAIN - Express.co.uk - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Katherine Johnson led African American efforts in space travel - Farm and Dairy - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- Space travel is measured in light years, but what's a light year anyway? - MyStatesman.com - February 23rd, 2017 [February 23rd, 2017]
- TRAPPIST-1: How Long Would It Take to Fly to 7-Planet System? - Space.com - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- NASA Looking for Bright Ideas to Help With Space Travel - Tech.Co - February 24th, 2017 [February 24th, 2017]
- The history of space travel encapsulated - Fairfaxtimes.com - February 25th, 2017 [February 25th, 2017]
- SpaceX's reusable rockets make space travel much cheaper - The ... - CMU The Tartan Online - February 27th, 2017 [February 27th, 2017]
- Stars align for space travel at memorable Oscars ceremony - Siliconrepublic.com - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- FSU researcher to lead US-Russia project on health, space travel - Florida State News - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Crowding the cosmos: space travel turns private - The Student - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Forget SpaceX: 10 companies that will change space travel in 2017 & 2018 - Geektime - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Safe space travel: Protecting alien worlds from earthlings - and vice versa - Deutsche Welle - March 2nd, 2017 [March 2nd, 2017]
- Watch: 'Black Holes' A Satirical Comedy About Space Travel From Sundance 2017 - Konbini US - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Doctor Launches Vision Quest To Help Astronauts' Eyeballs - NPR - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Beyond Earth talking about space travel - Alaska Public Radio Network - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Would You Book A Flight To The Moon? - The Alternative Daily (blog) - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- Colorado Likely To Benefit From Privatized Space Travel - CBS Local - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- NEC develops reliable FPGAs for space travel - Electronics Weekly - Electronics Weekly - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- 4 Entrepreneurs Changing the Way We Think About Space Travel - Tech.Co - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- Why Space Travel Can Be Absolutely Disgusting - Live Science - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- EDITORIAL: Exploring private space travel - Indiana Daily Student - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Harvard Scientists Theorize That Fast Radio Bursts Come From Alien Space Travel - Popular Mechanics - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Space Exploration: US congress approves $19.5 billion for NASA to get humans to Mars by 2033 - NTA News - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- MIT Conference To Focus On Space Travel For The Public - CBS Boston / WBZ - March 11th, 2017 [March 11th, 2017]
- Reusing rockets is best way to advance space travel, SpaceX officer tells symposium attendees - Colorado Springs Gazette - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- How space travel leads to cognitive shifts in awareness | Life and ... - The Guardian - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Cheap space travel, electric cars and a whirlwind love life love life... the billionaire genius inventing our future - Mirror.co.uk - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Reusable rockets key for space travel industry - Alamogordo Daily News - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Is this massive airplane the future of space travel? One billionaire thinks so. - SOFREP (press release) (subscription) - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- spotlight - NYCAviation - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- BBC commissions documentary about commercial space travel fronted by Brian Cox - Radio Times - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- The Physics of Interstellar Travel : Explorations in ... - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Mars rover scientist, SpaceX engineer join NASA astronaut corps - Reuters - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- How SpaceX Launched a Chinese Experiment Into Space, Despite US Ban - Foreign Policy (blog) - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- 'Blast Camp' gives students lessons on space travel - Fremont News Messenger - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- IKEA looks to space travel for new micro-living furniture collection - Dezeen - June 7th, 2017 [June 7th, 2017]
- HPE's next frontier: Space travel & memory-driven computing - IT Brief Australia - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- 20 Out-Of-This-World Companies Working On Space Travel Technologies - Interesting Engineering - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]
- Here's how space travel is helping keep you healthy - Eyewitness News - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]