Comments on: Rocket scientists: reaching the nearest star in a human lifetime is nearly impossible http://futurismic.com/2008/08/20/rocket-scientists-reaching-the-nearest-star-in-a-human-lifetime-is-nearly-impossible/ Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001 Sat, 19 May 2012 23:03:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: John Hunt http://futurismic.com/2008/08/20/rocket-scientists-reaching-the-nearest-star-in-a-human-lifetime-is-nearly-impossible/comment-page-1/#comment-32847 John Hunt Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:24:51 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=3808#comment-32847 If we were to send frozen embryos, then a human lifetime become irrelevant, mass is very small and hence speeds can be high without bankrupting Earth's energy account. Also, travel times don't necessarily have to be in 40 or 60 years. They can be about 2,000 years. The purpose of such a mission would be to "purchase insurance" for humanity against the possibility of extinction from self-replicating technology. I have done a fairly extensive write-up of such a mission. It can be seen and discussed at: http://www.peregrinus-interstellar.net/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=85&func=showcat&catid=9 If we were to send frozen embryos, then a human lifetime become irrelevant, mass is very small
and hence speeds can be high without bankrupting Earth’s energy account. Also, travel times don’t necessarily have to be in 40 or 60 years. They can be about 2,000 years. The purpose of such a mission would be to “purchase insurance” for humanity against the possibility of extinction from self-replicating technology.

I have done a fairly extensive write-up of such a mission. It can be seen and discussed at:
http://www.peregrinus-interstellar.net/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=85&func=showcat&catid=9

]]> By: design http://futurismic.com/2008/08/20/rocket-scientists-reaching-the-nearest-star-in-a-human-lifetime-is-nearly-impossible/comment-page-1/#comment-16069 design Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:07:21 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=3808#comment-16069 What if they extend human lifetime. What if they extend human lifetime.

]]> By: Khannea Suntzu http://futurismic.com/2008/08/20/rocket-scientists-reaching-the-nearest-star-in-a-human-lifetime-is-nearly-impossible/comment-page-1/#comment-16007 Khannea Suntzu Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:24:46 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=3808#comment-16007 I remain of the same opinion - as soon as earth itself has become a somewhat despicable backwater, when the top asteroids and the jovian system have been thoroughly explored, when the moon and mars are losing their frontier appeal and become stifling and suburbanite, when venus is looked into as a topic of terraforming, when probes are moving through the outer planets atmospheres and among the KBO's and into the cometary halo, when you can see on the earth's night sky the moving dots of solar-orbiting solarplexes and habitat clusters - then the first slow travels to the nearest stars may start. And they wont be intentional - habitats may slowly spiral outward over decades and consecutively drift beyond orbits into long cold spirals out into the thousands and eventually ten thousands of AE hopping from comet to comet, mining the odd interstellar plutoid. These voyages could well take thousands of years, and be totally dissimilar to the rushed phallic penetration of the void by "thin needle like" vessels. Moving in the solar system is epic. Moving through interstellar space is of a completely different order we have no metaphors for as a collective humanity. And then to think most SF writers in the 1950s were predicting colonies on alpha centauri in the early 20th century. For me the solar system is enough fun and adventure to last me at least a thousand years. I remain of the same opinion – as soon as earth itself has become a somewhat despicable backwater, when the top asteroids and the jovian system have been thoroughly explored, when the moon and mars are losing their frontier appeal and become stifling and suburbanite, when venus is looked into as a topic of terraforming, when probes are moving through the outer planets atmospheres and among the KBO’s and into the cometary halo, when you can see on the earth’s night sky the moving dots of solar-orbiting solarplexes and habitat clusters – then the first slow travels to the nearest stars may start. And they wont be intentional – habitats may slowly spiral outward over decades and consecutively drift beyond orbits into long cold spirals out into the thousands and eventually ten thousands of AE hopping from comet to comet, mining the odd interstellar plutoid. These voyages could well take thousands of years, and be totally dissimilar to the rushed phallic penetration of the void by “thin needle like” vessels. Moving in the solar system is epic. Moving through interstellar space is of a completely different order we have no metaphors for as a collective humanity.

And then to think most SF writers in the 1950s were predicting colonies on alpha centauri in the early 20th century. For me the solar system is enough fun and adventure to last me at least a thousand years.

]]>