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 The Science Behind Hyperspace - Why science fact and fiction often don't see eye-to-eye

 Faster Than Light - The many ideas for FTL travel from the science fiction universe

 Hyperspace in Science Fiction - A new way to travel, and the many ways to do so!

 Timeline of the Future - Here is what may be in store for us in the next 100 billion years!

 

So... What's the Real Story?

Even after NASA figures out how to bring down the cost of space travel from $10,000/pound to something more reasonable, the biggest factor limiting our access to space is not a technological problem. It is simply that adults do not see a practical reason for entering space, although many of them may dream of us eventually doing so. We are very quick to come up with money to start wars and make ourselves safe and comfortable, but no nation in existence today would ever consider funding space exploration at the rate we did in the 1960's when we went to the moon. Imagine what we could do, and the places we could go, if we really invested in the high frontier! During the 1960's, NASA's budget was 5% of the American Federal Budget. Today, in 2003, it has fallen to less than 0.7% - nearly a factor of 10 times smaller!!!

Instead of thinking about the future possibilities of space travel, and supporting NASA to do it right, here are the kinds of things we do each year with our national wealth instead:

$650 billion

Credit card debt

$210 billion

Home improvements

$117 billion

Economic cost of obesity

$100 billion

Economic cost of smoking

$50 billion

Diet and weight loss products

$30 billion

Food Industry advertising budget

$17 billion

Flowers and plants

$16 billion

Spectator sports and theme parks

$14 billion

Untested dietary supplements

$11 billion

T-shirt purchases

$9 billion

Gasoline wasted on SUVs

$8 billion

Going to the movies

$6 billion

Online casino revenue

$5 billion

Bottled drinking water

$4 billion

Potato chips

 

So, when NASA asks for a paltry $16 billion to explore space, please don't argue that that money can be better spent here on Earth. From the above table, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to show you where that money would actually end up!

Thanks to extravagant science fiction movies and TV series, we may not actually need to invest in space travel at all. Perhaps the illusion that we are a 'space-faring' civilization in our imagination is really all we were looking for in the first place. It is far more fun to imagine and pretend what aliens might look like, than actually investing in a serious way (e.g. SETI) to really find out. Of course, our laid-back attitude about space may be in for a very rude awakening when that next asteroid enters our atmosphere and destroys a city, state or country. Until then, space is a pretty abstract concept for nearly all of the 6 billion people on this planet.

Beginner:

  1. Do spiders spin the same kinds of webs in space and on the Earth?
  2. In pictures from the Shuttle, why do you not see any stars?
  3. Could you say more about space junk as an environmental problem?
  4. Do you have any references for the physiological effects of human space travel?
  5. Have any man-made objects left the solar system?
  6. What is the probability of humans directly encountering visitors from other worlds?
  7. Will humans ever travel to the stars?
  8. Will astronauts ever be hit by orbiting debris?
  9. Did NASA cancel the Space Shuttle mission in April, 1997 because of the solar flare?
  10. How much radiation exposure do astronauts get in space?
  11. What would happen if an astronaut took her glove off for a few seconds in space?
  12. Do rocket launches affect the orbit of the Earth?
  13. How long did it take Apollo astronauts to get to the Moon?
  14. Why can't the Space Shuttle visit the Moon?
  15. What are the effects of space on human reproduction?
  16. Are any laboratories trying to develop faster than light travel?
  17. In deep space communication, what data rates are used?
  18. What do astronauts really do in space?
  19. What material is used to make spacecraft?
  20. Will travel at light speed ever be possible?
  21. Why is the velocity of the Voyager spacecraft decreasing as it leaves the solar system?
  22. Coulld you really hide a starship in a nebula?
  23. Will private enterprise ever become important in space travel and exploration?
  24. When do you think humans will set foot on Mars?
  25. How fast does the Space Shuttle have to travel to leave the atmosphere?
  26. Where can I get the latest day-to-day news on the Space Program?
  27. How many plants do you need in a space station to make enough oxygen for one person?
  28. Can the effects of some diseases be reversed or stopped in space?
  29. Why doesn't the Space Shuttle burn up when it reenters the atmosphere?
  30. Where can I get information about what NASA plans to do in the future?
  31. How many times does the Space Shuttle orbit the Earth each day?
  32. Will anyone ever travel to Mars?
  33. What are the know physical and mental problems with human spaceflight?
  34. Is it possible to reach speeds greater than 100,000 miles per hour in space?
  35. At a speed of 1/8 the speed of light, how long would it take to get to Proxima Centauri?
  36. How long would it take to get to the nearest star?
  37. Can humans be frozen for long voyages like they do in some science fiction stories?
  38. What would happen if I stepped into space without a spacesuit?
  39. Will commercial 'tourist' space travel ever become practical or possible?
  40. How long would it take to reach each planet from the Earth?
  41. Does NASA use magnetic fields to improve astronaut health in space?
  42. How much does it cost to put things into space?
  43. Is NASA using Ion Power in its new spacecraft?
  44. What does the atmospheric trajectory of the Space Shuttle look like?
  45. How much do astronauts get paid?
  46. Why did we stop going to the Moon, and why are people so uninterested in walking on the Moon or traveling to Mars?
  47. Now that water has been found on the Moon, Mercury and Mars which would be better to colonize?
  48. Why can't we use old ICBMs for space travel?
  49. Is it really scary up in space?
  50. How much will a tourist ticket to the Moon cost in the year 2025?
  51. How much money has NASA spent for space research?
  52. What will space travel be like in the year 2264?
  53. Why do NASA spacecraft have to be so clean?
  54. Why can't NASA sell moon and mars rocks to finance its programs?
  55. Why was the Space Shuttle fuel tank painted red?
  56. Is the space travel described in 'Babylon 5' and 'Star Trek' plausible at all?
  57. How fast does the Space Shuttle travel compared to a bullet?
  58. Other than the Moon and Mars, where else should we put human colonies in the solar system?
  59. Using modern technology, how long would a trip to the nearest star take?
  60. What happens when a human is exposed to a vacuum?

Intermediate:

  1. If cosmic rays are a big problem for travel to Mars, why aren't they a problem for Shuttle astronauts?
  2. At what speed does the interstellar medium become lethal to high speed flight?
  3. Using solar sails with a 1-G acceleration, how long would it take to get to Jupiter or Pluto?
  4. How can a continuous 1-G thrust get you to Alpha Centauri without exceeding the speed of light half way there?
  5. Could you travel large distance in space by warping it in some way?
  6. Is the kind of artificial gravity used in Star Trek ever possible?
  7. What is an Alcubierre warp drive?
  8. How do slingshot orbits work?
  9. If a spaceship had a constant thrust indefinitely, could it reach light speed?
  10. How feasible is warp drive and matter teleportation in Star Trek?
  11. How much younger are astronauts after they return from orbit?
  12. How does ion propulsion work?

Advanced:

  1. How is it possible for the Slingshot Effect to extract angular momentum from a planet?
  2. I don't understand how an Alcubiere space warp can actually let you cross space in a short time?
  3. If atoms can be in two places at one time, why can't we use this to travel through space instantly?


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