Jared Thomas

Defense Paper: Interstellar Travel

Interstellar travel is any kind of space travel that goes beyond our solar system, whether
its travel to another solar system in our galaxy or to an entirely different galaxy. Interstellar travel
is something that seems science fiction, but it actually becomes more of a possibility with every
passing year. Scientists are constantly researching different ways to bring interstellar travel out of
science fiction and into reality. There are many different problems that are restricting scientists
from achieving interstellar travel, such as propulsion type and fuel/cargo storage. Once they
discover the way to solve these issues, travel to another inhabitable planet could become
possible, but why should we try to travel to another planet? Physicist Stephen Hawking has
predicted the world will end within the next one thousand years (Crew). Our generation, and
many generations after us, dont have to worry about it, but the fact that the world will end that
soon is still frightening. My product will be made to try and ease this fear by showing people
options they can take.
My product is similar to an interactive map, but instead of roads and cities, its space and
planets that could possibly be inhabited. I decided to use this genre because it seemed like the
best way to get this information across without boring the audience. This map is the perfect
combination of education and entertainment. The first thing the user sees is the title, What other
Planets could we Travel to? The first slide is a brief introduction which provides an overview of
the map, along with some helpful information like how far a light year is, how the planets are
named, and how they are discovered. The next slide is Earth with some information like
Hawkings prediction for how the Earth could end. Then there are many different planets the user
could travel to. These would have distances in light years. Once a route was chosen, the map
would slowly zoom to that planet, showing any other planets and stars that would be passed on
the journey. Once the user reached the planet, there would be information about the planet;
average temperature, seasons, length of days, what the life was like, and any other information
that would be important. For example, the first planet is Proxima b with the description, Proxima
b is a little over 4 light years away from Earth. So far, it is the closest Earth-like planet that lies
within the habitable zone of its host star. Astronomers believe it is most likely covered in water;
either partially or completely. It is 1.3 times as massive as Earth, meaning the gravity would be
very similar. The ocean that possibly covers the entire planet could be over 100 miles deep, and
the planet could have a thin atmosphere, like the one Earth has. If we could travel here, it would
be difficult to create a colony unless scientists figure out how to build a city under water. The
radius of this planet is predicted to be very similar, but astronomers don't know what the
composition of the planet is (Mathewson). Each planet has a similar description until the last
planet; this planet has a little more information with it since astronomers were able to figure out
a little more. The description is, Kepler 452b is one of the most Earth like planets that's been
found so far. This planet is 1400 light years away. It is 60 percent wider and around 5 times more
massive than Earth, because of this the gravity on this planet would be about two times stronger
than earth's gravity. Astronomers believe we would be able to get used to the increased gravity.
They believe our bones stronger every day until we were used to the gravity. The light would be
very similar to the light we see on Earth, since the planet orbits a solar-type star at about the
same distance as Earth orbits the sun. They say Earth plants would be able to photosynthesize
 Jared Thomas

perfectly. Living here would be difficult at first, but humans would be able to adapt to the
conditions (Wall). The final slide asks the user is they have any questions, and they would ask
these questions to the people that work in the place that this product is located in. I believe this
product would be in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. I would like to
have one of my products in every space museum in America, or even the world. If more people
learn about these planets, then there is higher chance of people wanting to travel to these planets.
This product should be introduced whenever interstellar travel becomes possible; there is no
point in introducing it now since we cant make it to these planets.
This product wouldnt have a huge effect now since interstellar travel still isnt possible
with the technology we have. The product would have to be introduced when interstellar travel
becomes possible to raise awareness about it, which means astronomers and scientists have a lot
of work to do to make this possible. There are many different designs for ships, most of them
involve huge ships, big enough to carry over a million people. This ship wouldnt be able to
travel quickly, so the journey would take thousands of years. Therefore, there are so many people
on the ship; they have to make a long-lasting civilization in space so the ship can reach its
destination (Goldsmith). I believe this map would help convince more people to consider
interstellar travel, instead of ignoring it, especially if they see the predictions for the end of the
world. One of those predictions comes from Stephen Hawking. He claims, artificial
intelligence(AI) will either be the best, or worst, thing ever to happen to humanity, (Crew). AI is
limited now, but it will most likely be very advanced once interstellar travel is achieved, so this
may be a problem when this product is being used. Donald Goldsmith, who has a Ph. D. in
astronomy, also mentions the Earth becoming uninhabitable. He says, eventually to establish
self-sustaining colonies that might provide a continuing opportunity to maintain our existence if
our home planet were to become uninhabitable, (Goldsmith). However, he does not go into
detail about what could happen, but I thought it was interesting that he mentioned it.
 Jared Thomas

Original References:
Crew, Bec. Humanity Only Has Around 1000 Years Left on Earth, Stephen Hawking Predicts.
Science Alert. Science Alert. 16 November 2016. Web. 2 April 2017.
Goldsmith, Donald. "Does Humanities Destiny Lie in Interstellar Travel?"
Space.com.Space.com. 27 January 2015. Web. 14 February 2017.

New References:
Mathewson, Samantha. "Proxima b Might Be a Habitable 'Ocean Planet'" Space.com.
Space.com, 26 Oct. 2016. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
Wall, Mike. "Kepler-452b: What It Would Be Like to Live On Earth's 'Cousin'" Space.com.
Space.com, 24 July 2015. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.