Space is big - How far we are from interplanetary travel

[Seshmeister]

I knew it was bad but...

The Apollo missions took 3 days to get to the moon.

The fastest one we have ever sent out is the Pluto New Horizons probe which took just 6 hours.

At that speed to get to the nearest star would take 30 000 years.

To get to the nearest planet which may possibly have a chance of being habitable is 70 000 years.

I'm not Mr Green but that does seem to indicate that we should try and be careful with this fucking rock we are clinging to...

[Zing!]

Strapping ourselves to giant fuel tanks and lighting the fuse is the modern equivalent of the coyote strapping on bat wings and jumping off a cliff. We have advanced with technology in every other aspect but not with propulsion?

[sadaist]

Strapping ourselves to giant fuel tanks and lighting the fuse is the modern equivalent of the coyote strapping on bat wings and jumping off a cliff. We have advanced with technology in every other aspect but not with propulsion?

I heard a story about a subway like system being either designed or built right now where it's like 6-8 people per car and it's basically a small tube that moves by magnets. No friction, no touching, no derailing. And as fast as you want to make it go since it touches nothing. Could travel from New York To Los Angeles in under an hour. Can you imagine? No exhaust, no crashes, no congestion.

[vandeleur]

I like the idea of travelling to the stars and I believe it's in our nature to explore , but seriously why fuck up somewhere else like we're fucking up here .
May be it's a good thing we are not smart enough to shit all over somewhere else .

Maybe it's a cosmic constant you can't have Another planet until you go up stairs and tidy the one you already have .

[Zing!]

http://youtu.be/4HHJv8lPERQ

[private parts]

I'm not Mr Green but that does seem to indicate that we should try and be careful with this fucking rock we are clinging to...

Your avatar says differently!

[FORD]

[Seshmeister]

I like the idea of travelling to the stars and I believe it's in our nature to explore , but seriously why fuck up somewhere else like we're fucking up here .
May be it's a good thing we are not smart enough to shit all over somewhere else .

This is very true. Mars is what Earth will look like if/when it is totally fucked up.

If we ever have the Total Recall/Star Trek style terraforming technology then it would be a hell of a lot easier to fix Earth instead.

Most astronauts seem to come back with the message that fuck it's bleak out there, we better look after this rock. And those people are astronauts - most of whom are chosen from the kind of people that don't usually worry about shit like that as they are zooming about as a test pilot or whatever...

[vandeleur]

Yeah think it was Apollo 8 ?? That took the pic earth rise .
Which is kinda the first pic of our little blue planet .

[jhale667]

May be it's a good thing we are not smart enough to shit all over somewhere else .

That's also been suggested as the reason as to why no other more advanced civilization that's already mastered space travel will have anything to do with us (other than use us as lab rats, if you're into the X-files type of thing). We can't stop fighting amongst ourselves; even if we're only being observed - what would be any other society's motivation to reach out to us?

[Hardrock69]

According to Ben Rich, former head of Lockheed's Skunkworks back in the day, we already have faster than light capabilities.

[vandeleur]

Am not a physicist , my qualifications are watching the big bang theory once in a while to watch penny's tits.
My junior school understanding of the basics is that light speed will never be possible , relativity and all the einstein gubbins.
But I watched a discovery show discussing folds in space ,worm holes etc , seemingly the rapid expansion of the universe post big bang is giving scientists headaches .
Even some of these new particles at quantum level seem to be moving at impossible speeds ( as well as doing other bat shit stuff)

[Kristy]

my qualifications are watching the big bang theory once in a while to watch penny's tits.

Big Bang Theory is on in the UK? My condolences.

[vandeleur]

Big Bang Theory is on in the UK? My condolences.

We've discussed this I like it you don't , Tomato, tomato . Potato potato lets call the whole thing off

[Kristy]

Oh, so sorry Mr. Know-It-All.