That is the approximate distance the Voyager 1 probes covers. No surprise when you consider its current velocity of about 10.5 miles per second. That is staggeringly fast. Mind boggling even. Currently, voyager 1 sits around one light day away. Data transmitted to or from the probe takes a full day of light speed travel.

It is both breathtaking and depressing at the same time. The breathtaking part speaks for itself. The depressing part is realizing that unless we discover a new and safe energy source to power travel, we will never touch another star system. The sky is essentially a locked window we can look through but never pass through in any meaningful way. This is not meant to be defeatist- it is simple truth hemmed in by physics. Accelerating mass takes fuel. More mass of fuel requires more fuel to move the additional mass. The faster you go, the more energy density you need to accelerate which means more mass. Which means more fuel. Which equates to more mass you need more fuel to move.

Then there’s the fuel you will need to decelerate on the back end of the voyage- which means… you guessed it, more fuel which means more mass and more fuel to move it all, which means more mass for which you’ll need more fuel… you get the picture.

Unless we unlock theoretical travel methods such as a wormhole (or Einstein Rosen bridge) we aren’t going anywhere that will be more than a one way trip through the most hostile environment we know of.

Mind boggling. And a bit depressing.

Have you been drinking?

Seriously, I like the abstract thought of this and continue to wonder if this problem? has already been solved by "someone" else.

From what I remember reading, because of the increasing rate of expansion of the universe we could never reach another galaxy - even at light speed. The universe is expanding faster than light.
And no, the expansion of space faster than light speed does not violate currently known physics.

I am a long time fan of science fiction, going back to the late 1940s as a child.

So many of the things the authors wrote about have become everyday fact now. I do not pretend to know how it who come about (and certainly not in my lifetime) but there will be a way to traverse distances that we cannot imagine in vehicles beyond belief.

We’ll be good once we locate the astrophage.

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From what I remember reading, because of the increasing rate of expansion of the universe we could never reach another galaxy - even at light speed. The universe is expanding faster than light

The far extent of the universe may be receding from us at greater than light speed, but not nearer objects, such as the clouds of Magellan, the Andromeda galaxy, or a gazillion other galaxies.

Generally speaking, the more distant an object is, the greater its velocity away from us.

ETA – Actually, the Andromeda Galaxy is moving towards us at a speed of ~100 kilometers per second.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pipe Smoker,

Even if an object could be propelled at or even close to the speed of light, that is still not nearly fast enough. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pm...asterThanLightTravel A plausible method of achieving this is the Alcubierre Drive, but the technology to construct it doesn't, and probably won't, exist. Instead of moving the spaceship, the spaceship moves space itself, kind of like Star Trek's warp drive.

It is improbable that we are the only life in the universe, but the distances are too vast for us to ever meet.

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Originally posted by Prefontaine:

We’ll be good once we locate the astrophage.

Limited to traveling eight light years in spore form.

These are old themes in Sci-Fi that address the OP's misgivings:

Bussard ram-jet: this theoretical device would gather elemental hydrogen from between the stars and fuse it as a propulsive source. Eliminates the need to carry fuel, you pick it up as you go.

Generation ships: spacecraft large enough to house a self-replicating population thereby allowing trips longer than a single person's lifespan.

Artificial suspended animation: AKA "cold sleep," a way to suspend the aging process indefinitely.

The implications of these concepts has been explored many times in speculative literature. I very much doubt that any of us will see these in our lifetimes, but technology continues to advance and even accelerate, so who knows.

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Originally posted by 6guns:
Have you been drinking?

Seriously, I like the abstract thought of this and continue to wonder if this problem? has already been solved by "someone" else.

Haha no
Seriously though, the universe is fraught with danger to traveling at the kind of velocities we’d need to make anything but a one way trip with the communication time limited to ever increasing distance. Any ship would have to be heavily shielded against cosmic radiation that would be a constant ever present hazard. For a ship traveling at a significant enough portion of the speed of light, even dust particles would become hazardous. A strike from a pebble sized object might cause a release of energy equal to high explosives. More shielding, more weight. More weight, more fuel… which again equals more weight needing more fuel to move it… adding more weight. It’s an unforgiving equation.

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Originally posted by architect:
Generation ships: spacecraft large enough to house a self-replicating population thereby allowing trips longer than a single person's lifespan.

What would anyone’s motive for such an undertaking be?
I read a lot of science fiction in my younger days and recall that idea, but don’t remember anyone’s discussing my question except as the very limited response to over-population and destruction of Earth’s environment. The other major issue which has been explored in some stories is how would anyone know what they were going to, and that would apply to some other concepts such as suspended animation.

As discussed, there are many issues that might make any travel beyond the solar system impracticable, but closer to home one YouTuber has discussed the idea that the amount of stuff in orbit abound the planet might get to the point that manned travel might be too dangerous to attempt.

Although the latest moon mission was finally the exception, I’m often reminded of this quotation:
“History will remember the inhabitants of this century as the people who went from Kitty Hawk to the moon in 66 years, only to languish for the next 30 in low Earth orbit. At the core of the risk-free society is a self-indulgent failure of nerve.”
— Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut (in about 1999)

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Originally posted by Prefontaine:
We’ll be good once we locate the astrophage.

Some members can’t properly locate the apostrophe.

BTW – The Levenshtine distance between apostrophe and astrophage is 4.

Here's a really good video on it that relates to the Hail Mary Project:

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Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

We’ll be good once we locate the astrophage.

Limited to traveling eight light years in spore form.

Then we will need to find the spice so we can fold space.

The Starshot concept came up with a way to get postage stamp sized spacecraft to 20% lightspeed using yet to be developed lasers and sails. That could get them to Alpha Centauri in 20 years for a flyby, but with no stopping unless the aliens there turn on their braking lasers at the right time!

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Originally posted by sigfreund:
What would anyone’s motive for such an undertaking be?

I've read anywhere from religious reasons to escaping destruction as you mentioned.
I think it's more HOW than WHY. If the capability existed, a lot of reasons would exist.
As soon as scientists decided the earth was flat & you'd fall off the edge if you sailed too far, someone said 'hold my mead & watch this'.

Most importantly, we do know how V'ger will be doing in 2270.

We have been conditioned by both Hollywood and to some extent our education system to think we can reach the stars. There are hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way. With the naked eye, we can see about 3000 of them under the best conditions. The closest star, Proxima Centauri would take 75,000 years at the fastest speeds ever realized by humans to get there. And that is just to reach a red dwarf that arguably would make life on any planets orbiting it nearly possible due to constant radiation bombardment that makes our suns output seem benign by comparison.

Those speeds (voyager probes, New Horizons) were only possible using gravity assists from planets. Now that they are outbound they can never go any faster or decelerate at the other end. No spacecraft could ever do more than coast forever under those limits. Coast forever at the same speed.

Once we finish creating Dilithium Crystals we'll have Warp speed and that is faster than Light speed...... So there is that.....