Poll: Space...the final frontier

[McHanhan]

Also: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/28/warp-speed-engine.html. Holy Crap!. Warp drive is possible. Einstein was right!

I am sure that there are inherent difficulties with that plan. I am no theoretical physicist (I dabbled in a few courses) but I think that if we were any closer to cracking the mass and acceleration dilemma in 1994 (given that it is based off Michael Alcubierre's "Alcubierre drive") we would have seen at least a small scale prototype in the works by now.

Einstein's theory of relativity clearly states that in normal space any object approaching the speed of light will increase in mass exponentially, and require an exponential increase in the amount of power needed to propel the craft forward and as a result it provides a convenient barrier to prevent us from zooming around in space at the speed of light.

At present I don't know of any functioning models that can effectively achieve:

a) Speeds greater than C without reaching critical mass

b) A field capable of bending the fabric of space.

Like the scientist said: "Warp drive isn't doable now, and probably won't be for the next several millenia,".But it's fun to hope.

Alternatively, we could hunt for wormholes in space. They quite conveniently can provide a shortcut through space, provided that they don't collapse. A ship crossing this "bridge" would theoretically move at below light speed, but still arrive before a beam of light that would have had to go the long way around. It's not the same as warp drive but it nets the same results.

Oh damn! and I really got excited. Well maybe in the quite distant future...

I think Titan (Saturn's moon)would be interesting, its one of the two places in this Solar system that Mankind could actually live on, the first being Earth itself.

What?. Are you saying Titan has an oxygen based atmosphere and more importantly water?.

 

[LockHeart]

I'd like to see us land on Mars next, maybe establish small colonies on the Moon and knock some asteroids into orbit around Earth to provide zero-g manufacturing facilities and space elevator anchors. Then, leave the Solar System and begin to colonise habitable planets!

 

[Grayjack]

Realistically the next step would be Mars, but I would want to explore the rest of the Milky Way.

 

[Julianking93]

I'm still waiting it out for an under water colonization...

 

[rokkolpo]

I think we need to colonise Mars if we want humanity to survive to the 22rd century. After that, let's figure out faster than light travel already! We've established there's nothing worth colonising anywhere we can get to conventionally.

why? mars is pretty much dead now.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

we need to colonise Mars after the Moon.
The Mechanicum needs a home too.

 

[Gebi10000]

Space isn't the final frontier. Obviously Time is.

que doctor who music. dwa dwa dwaaaaaaaaaaaa, dwa dwa dwa dwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[Uncreation]

No, no space travel for humanity until we find Cthulhu under the sea.

What good would that do?

I think the moon should be the first stop. You know, start small, work our way from there.

 

[Maze1125]

Space isn't the final frontier. Obviously Time is.

Ahh, but time is relative!

So is space.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Space isn't the final frontier. Obviously Time is.

Ahh, but time is relative!

So is space.

Hence the space-time continuum, yes!

 

[A Weary Exile]

We don't have the technology to feasibly start exploring the solar system. Besides, shouldn't we finish ruining this planet before we move on to another?

I'd like to see us land on Mars though.

Well said.

OP: I say we colonize the Sun!

 

[skywalkerlion]

LULZ

I said Uranus!

I AM SO CLEVER (^o^)

But to be honest, I think Mars is most likely to be next.

 

[Doug]

we need a base on the moon. not only would SETI be more efective there, we could mine the iron, and use the base as a jump board for a mission to mars

This, probably. But of course, both governments and the private sector are dragging there feet over this and it would involve massive outlay for initially low returns; it would probably take a decade or more to make colonies profitable; especially without any kind of cheap way to send items into orbit.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

Traveling at light speed is impossible unless you have a mass of absolute zero, which is why a photon can do it. The faster you go the harder it is to continue to accelerate with a mass. Not even an atom can accelerate at the speed of light. We have quite a ways to go to crack that one.

We'll be better off creating warp drives. Once we manage to warp space-time actual speed becomes irrelevant. I just ignorantly use faster than light travel as an umbrella term for any method by which we can travel interstellar distances in short spans of time.
And we won't have workable warp drives or the means to navigate them until we have quantum computers, which I consider far, far less likely to be created by humanity.

Well there is this! [http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/28/warp-speed-engine.html]

The ability to manipulate space itself to make it move rather than the ship. I don't really understand how it is supposed to work (hell, I was barely awake during astrophysics lectures) but I have a feeling that it won't be long now before we see Battlestars moving about!

Warp drives work in a way sort of like (excuse me if I am a little incorrect), riding a bubble of anti-matter/dark energy to the location, that when stopped would theoretically increase in size and eat the ship.

It takes about 4 earth years to get to mars at this point, so yeah FTL will have lots of time to be worked on.

 

[RanD00M]

The moon.It has water.Dose Mars have water?.No it dose not.So i say.TO THE MOON.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Traveling at light speed is impossible unless you have a mass of absolute zero, which is why a photon can do it. The faster you go the harder it is to continue to accelerate with a mass. Not even an atom can accelerate at the speed of light. We have quite a ways to go to crack that one.

We'll be better off creating warp drives. Once we manage to warp space-time actual speed becomes irrelevant. I just ignorantly use faster than light travel as an umbrella term for any method by which we can travel interstellar distances in short spans of time.
And we won't have workable warp drives or the means to navigate them until we have quantum computers, which I consider far, far less likely to be created by humanity.

Well there is this! [http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/28/warp-speed-engine.html]

The ability to manipulate space itself to make it move rather than the ship. I don't really understand how it is supposed to work (hell, I was barely awake during astrophysics lectures) but I have a feeling that it won't be long now before we see Battlestars moving about!

Warp drives work in a way sort of like (excuse me if I am a little incorrect), riding a bubble of anti-matter/dark energy to the location, that when stopped would theoretically increase in size and eat the ship.

It takes about 4 earth years to get to mars at this point, so yeah FTL will have lots of time to be worked on.

I am fairly certain that a one way travel ticket to Mars is around the neighborhood of 9 months, provided the launch takes into account Earth and Mars's elliptical orbits. It however, can in no way take 4 years.

 

[AdambotLive]

Oh crap...

other planet: ZEEEERRGGGGG RUUUUSSSHH

 

[inhuMANATEE]

fyi anyone you picked Saturn ought to know that its a gas-giant. Can't really stand on it.

 

[Maze1125]

Dose Mars have water?

Yes, it does.

Also, we found water on Mars before we found it on the Moon, which would suggest that Mars has a lot more water than the Moon.

 

[Sarukin]

I think Titan (Saturn's moon)would be interesting, its one of the two places in this Solar system that Mankind could actually live on, the first being Earth itself.

What?. Are you saying Titan has an oxygen based atmosphere and more importantly water?.

As in its a possible host for microbial extraterrestrial life or, at least, as a prebiotic environmently rich with organic chemistry, you darft twit, no need to be snippy because of a simple comment.