Expert: Tom Whiting - 7/27/2009

Question
Will it be possible in the future to travel to other stars? What difficulties are there?

Answer
Hi Latoya,
In my opinion, yes...interstellar flight is not impossible, it's just very very difficult
(as was a cross Atlantic voyage in the early 1600's) and will take a long time to achieve the propulsion systems to do it successfully.  That was their problem too, as only wind and oars
were their only form of propulsion. Cross Atlantic travel became much more feasible once
the internal combustion engine was invented...we are awaiting a similar breakthrough in
interstellar travel too. (Efficient Ion Drive engines or matter anti-matter propulsion, perhaps.)

There is only one obvious difficulty....the vast distance between the stars and the extremely
high velocities that have to be achieved to go from point A to point B in a relatively
short time period. There are no miracles of "folded space or worm holes or time warps or faster than light tricks" as seen on science fiction movies. It is just going to have to be ground out the hard way.  Our only salvation is that time really does slow down (on board the craft up near light speed) for the travelers, so it doesn't take as long as one thinks due to the time
dilation effect. But most of the initial interstellar voyages will be one way, because if you plan to come back to Earth, many hundreds of years will have passed on the Earth. (The original movie, "Planet of the Apes" had it right as far as the time dilation effect...not about the apes.)

Just like the Pilgrims and colonists of old crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they had no plans of going back to Old Europe once they arrived in the New Western Hemisphere. They either made it in the New World, or died. The first couple of interstellar flights will be the same way.
But we've only just begun; I wouldn't expect the first interstellar attempt for at least another
century or two. We have a long way to go to achieve the proper propulsion systems, and we haven't
even begun to design a colony-sized craft to make the trip....(no Mayflower as yet).
We need the 'practice' of interplanetary voyages first...you have to crawl before you walk or
run, in any endeavor.
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA