The first in history!

NASA already prepares interstellar travel

The first interstellar journey of history could be a reality in 2069. That is, indeed, the date pointed out by a team of researchers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the launch of the first mission of Humanity to Alpha Centauri, the closest star to the sun.

Of course, for now it is a simple sketch, which lists the objectives and, above all, the technologies that will have to be developed in the coming decades to bring the mission of paper to reality. Propulsion technologies, for example, that are capable of traveling 4.6 light years (41 billion kilometers) that separate us from the objective in a reasonable time. Today, and with current engines, it would take about 30,000 years to cover that distance.

Nuclear engines, antimatter ... the researchers propose several options, although the most promising seems to be the solar sails driven by a laser beam from Earth, which would allow a ship to accelerate up to 10 percent of the speed of Light . Or what is the same, get to Alpha Centauri after "only" about 40 years of travel.

Once there, the probe would explore another solar system, with special attention to the next planet b, the same size as the Earth and located at the precise distance of its star so that the temperatures of its surface allow the existence of liquid water. The probe, even, would take systems to detect the possible presence of industrial activity or artificial lighting ...

It is still early to know if the mission will go beyond the simple theory, but there is no doubt that it would be a perfect way to celebrate the first hundred years of the arrival of man on the Moon ...