Can We Achieve Interstellar Travel? - VastlyCurious

    Have you ever dreamed of traveling to remote star systems? There are over 400 billion stars in our milky way galaxy alone, imagine the number of stars that might be in the observable universe. Are we bound to our solar system? Voyager-1 has moved out of the solar system, this proves that we can move out of our solar system. But when is Interstellar travel going to be possible?

    With our current technology, Interstellar travel might be within the realm of possibilities. Even our nearest star system, Proxima Centauri is 4 light-years away, there is a shortcut to reach there with our laser and nuclear technologies. But pulling off such a marvel is going to be very tough and a lot of technological breakthroughs have to be made. This could make way for us to colonize other planets and looking for alien life. We would have to worry about the apocalypse on Earth possibly Asteroid strikes. It could mean the diversification of life throughout the galaxy.

Traveling to Alpha Centauri

    Interstellar Travel has been already possible, the Voyager-1 probe we have sent has already been out of our solar system and it would reach another star system several years from now, even after depleting its battery as it will maintain its forward trajectory. The nearest star we have is Alpha Centauri, which is only 4 light-years away. It might sound like a small number, but with our technology, we can reach the star system in 80,000 years. That is surely is going to be a very long trip. Considering Alpha Centauri as our best bet, some agency has to maintain the probe for at least 80,000 years if that happens.

    Sending probes to another star system seems to be challenging, consider sending humans to another star system. That might not be occurring just in our lifetime, but we can send probes to Alpha Centauri within our lifetime, well at least apparently it is possible through our means feasible now. Voyager-1 used the concept of slingshot across the planet and using the gravity of the Earth to propel it forward, but that won't be a useful technique if we want to explore the other star systems within our lifetime. Theoretically, we could use many technologies to make Interstellar travel work out.

How can Interstellar Travel become possible?

    Two ways might help us to make interstellar possible, but it would take several brains to put into work and much money has to be poured in. We could either use nuclear resources to propel our probes as the probe requires enormous power over a long period of time. Or using new laser technology to propel the probes. But it could take a lot of effort and skill to puff off such an amazing feat.

• Using Nukes

 We are now relying on a Chemical battery to power the probe, but the chemical battery can't produce a lot of energy. According to Einstein's energy equation (E=mc2), the amount of energy produced can be determined by the mass of the substance used in the reaction. While in the chemical reaction of the battery, only 0.0001% of the mass of the chemical is involved, thus only a small amount of energy is released. We can't lean on chemical batteries now, so we can switch to nuclear power.

Using Nukes to Power the Spacecraft

    Nuclear reactions release an enormous amount of energy, bombarding a single neutron into a uranium atom might release a tremendous amount of energy. Nuclear fuel might not only be more energy efficient than chemical fuels but it can also release colossal energy over a long period of time which could make interstellar travel possible. But using nuclear energy might be risky, it will be hard to contain the reaction. If we found a proper way to contain the reaction over a longer period of time, we might just explore space and find the truth about the other star systems.

• Using Laser Arrays

    This is another proposed concept that could make the interstellar cruise work. The basic idea behind this is that using the laser to power the spacecraft. Carrying the energy with us in the spacecraft might not be the best bet because carrying the energy source with the spacecraft would only add more weight to the craft and slow down the journey. This is where the technology of using lasers to power the craft might prove useful.

    We must design a spacecraft with a solar sail that will be powered by a system of interconnected nuclear stations through a laser and a laser projector must be built in space. Building that structure might be possible if we pour all of our resources into space, but investing in space technologies might not be possible for the governments. Nevertheless, it is possible theoretically. If we use this technology and power the craft using our nuclear stations on Earth, it might reach Alpha Centauri within our lifetime.

Conclusion

    Interstellar travel is too big a dream to pull off, but it is still possible at least theoretically. We must invest in space technologies and more resources will have to spend. We can't potentially waste our money and resources on interstellar travel as it might not be worth the cost. But it will surely be a way forward in finding the mysteries of the Cosmos.