Liked on YouTube: Should We Fly to Another Star Soon? Or Wait for Better Technology to Come Along?

Should We Fly to Another Star Soon? Or Wait for Better Technology to Come Along?
It’s hard to really wrap your mind around the vast distances between stars. The fastest spacecraft ever launched into an interstellar trajectory right now is Voyager 1. If it was directed at the nearest star, it would take tens of thousands of years to make the journey across the interstellar gulf. Even so, groups like Breakthrough Starshot and Icarus Interstellar are working on plans right now to try and send spacecraft to other stars, ideally within our lifetimes. But we can see how quickly technology is advancing all around us, from materials science to high energy physics, not to mention reusable rockets. It seems reasonable to ask, should we invest in an interstellar mission now, or wait a few decades or even centuries for better technology to come along which could make the trip much shorter? Watch Chris Hadfield's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6woV3encOA Our Book is out! https://ift.tt/2KSgZDd Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://ift.tt/2t1SRE3 RSS: https://ift.tt/2sQXQIu Weekly email newsletter: https://ift.tt/2FmI9wC Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg Support us at https://ift.tt/1csLRpE More stories at https://ift.tt/2nDj081 Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday Facebook: https://ift.tt/1D3vp4S Instagram - https://ift.tt/320DsDH Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com References: https://ift.tt/2B7hbqw https://ift.tt/L0ykSG https://ift.tt/39xJ6BD https://ift.tt/3aC8J4n
via YouTube https://youtu.be/RXtYUawd4AY