What are some of the difficulties with interstellar travel?
The biggest problem with the idea of interstellar travel is scale. The distances to even the nearest stars are measured in light-years, with Proxima Centauri being our nearest neighbor at 4.24 light-years away, where one light-year is approximately 9 trillion kilometers: some 60,000 times the Earth-Sun distance.
What theory is Interstellar based on?
Overall, Nolan’s Interstellar stays remarkably true to Einstein’s theory. Although he does indulge in some “timey wimey stuff” at the end of the film, the director manages to keep the plot from devolving into complete science fiction using science from over 100 years ago.
Why don’t we have a better propulsion system for interstellar travel?
The speeds required for interstellar travel in a human lifetime far exceed what current methods of spacecraft propulsion can provide. Even with a hypothetically perfectly efficient propulsion system, the kinetic energy corresponding to those speeds is enormous by today’s standards of energy development.
How fast do interstellar space probes travel?
So, great; we have interstellar space probes currently in operation. Except the problem is that they’re going nowhere really fast. Each one of these intrepid interstellar explorers is traveling at tens of thousands of miles per hour, which sounds pretty fast.
Why don’t space travelers go to the stars?
Except the problem is that they’re going nowhere really fast. Each one of these intrepid interstellar explorers is traveling at tens of thousands of miles per hour, which sounds pretty fast. They’re not headed in the direction of any particular star, because their missions were designed to explore planets inside the solar system.
What are some of the prime targets for interstellar missions?
The following could be considered prime targets for interstellar missions: Closest system. Three stars (G2, K1, M5). Component A is similar to the Sun (a G2 star). On August 24, 2016, the discovery of an Earth-size exoplanet ( Proxima Centauri b) orbiting in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri was announced.