Earth Science: Geology, the Environment, and the UniverseChapter 31:
Galaxies and the UniverseProblem of the WeekTo Infinity and Beyond: Can We Really Go There? Discussion:
- This exercise should create a great springboard for a lively and relevant discussion of space travel. As the students should see, travel to distant parts of even our own solar system, will tax the limits of time and technology, as it now stands. Students should be able to see that there are limits to where we might go on a manned mission at this time.
Other factors that should be considered in long distance space voyages:
- how to take enough food and oxygen;
- what to do with wastes;
- how to produce energy; what will be the fuel source;
- The return journey
Also in this discussion the value of unmanned missions can/could be discussed here. - This second question asks students to think about advances in technology that would be needed to make long distance space travel practical. In this discussion topics that might be discussed
- solar wind power/solar power
- worm holes
- science fiction technologies
Web Links:
Have students explore this "LookSmart" list of Web links related to space travel now and in the future. http://www.looksmart.com/eus1/eus53706/eus53712/eus585265/eus77641/eus330255/r?l& Answers:
- *Note: To speed up this activity, distances in kilometers can be given and students can calculate the time for space travel in the Space Shuttle.
Trip: Earth to | Distance to Destination in kilometers (km) | Time for light to Travel This Distance
(light units) | Time to travel at speed of our current manned space flight technology | Moon | 390 000 km | 1.3 seconds | 13.84 hours | Pluto | 4320 000 000 km | 4 hours | 17.5 years | Proxima
Cantauri
(star nearest to the sun) | 4 090 000 000 000 km | 4.22 years | 162,430 years |
Calculations:
*Note: There are several directions students can come at these calculations. The suggestions below are but one of them! From Earth to Moon: As light:
Distance = Speed x Time
D = 3 x 105 km/s x 1.3 s
D = 390 000 km In Space Shuttle:
Time = Distance/Speed
X = 390 000 km/28 175 km/hr
X = 13.84 hr From Earth to Pluto As light:
Find number of seconds in 4 hours
4 hr x 60 min/hr x 60 s/min = 14 400 s
Distance = Speed x Time
D = 3 x 105 km/s x 14 400 s
D = 4 320 000 000 km In Space Shuttle:
Time = Distance/Speed
X = 4 320 000 000 km/28 175 km/hr
X = 153,327.4 hr (rounded to nearest tenth)
* Students can convert this to years
153,327.4 hr x 1day/24hr x 1 yr/365 days = 17.5 years From Earth to Proxima Centauri:As light:
*Slightly different calculations can be used here because there are no conversions to make.
Distance = Time x Speed
D = 4.22 yr x 9.5 x 1012 km/yr
D = 4.22 yr x 9 500 000 000 000 km/yr
D = 40 090 000 000 000 km In Space Shuttle:
Time = Distance/Speed
X = 40 090 000 000 000 km/28 175 km/hr
X is approximately 1,422,892,635 hours
Change this to years and you would get approximately 162,430 hours Reference Sites: |