Flying to alien stars is no longer fantasy, but reality that is being prepared for us. Several companies are working on the creation of spacecraft, developing programs for the colonization of the Moon and Mars. One of the projects assures that it will be possible to set up interstellar flights already in 100 years!
We continue to ignore problems
It seems to many that it is enough just to create a powerful, fast and durable spacecraft and you can send the first batch of people to the nearest stars. Engineers concentrate precisely on the technical side of travel and forget about the banal problems that should be solved first of all.
Let's say you are planning to send a group of people to another star. On such a trip will take tens of, if not hundreds of years. So you need to think about how to create a system for the livelihood of several generations (hygiene, nutrition, health, reproduction, psychological stability).
For example, where you take clothes for everyone, where to put tons of garbage, how to take care of the old and infirm, where to get food supplies, what to do if the new world turns out to be inhospitable, how to create medicines?
One way trip
It is important to understand that from such a trip you will not be able to return home. So you need to think about how to stock up on soil, bacteria, living beings and everything you need to settle on a new planet near an alien star. People can't go so far just to look at a star. They need to settle and create a stable colony. Agree, the development of a single spacecraft will not solve all these problems. But the snag is that no particular organization or country is planning to do this yet. And time is ticking. Therefore, the initiative was taken by the project “Centenary Spaceship”.
Main space motivator
This project was created in 2010 NASA and DARPA (US Department of Defense). Its main goal is to make sure that over the next hundred years people can break out of the solar system. The organizers do not close their eyes to the problems, but try to figure out and convince others that the opportunity still exists.
In fact, it is a large-scale motivator for the space community. The project is doing everything possible to rally people from various fields (physicists, mathematicians, biologists, astronomers, economists, psychologists, politicians, teachers and representatives of the arts) to work together to solve all problems.
The Centenary Spaceship supports various research initiatives, and also organizes annual symposia, where experts and interested in financing individuals are invited. There are also small specialized conferences where, over the course of several days, a team of experts jointly studies the problem in order to move forward.
What is the meaning of organization?
Even scientists sometimes retreat before the number of problems that arise on the way to interstellar flights. “The Centenary Spaceship” is trying to keep everyone’s interest on, and also is looking for finance for promotion. The organizers believe that by joint efforts it will be possible to create breakthrough technologies. There are critics who say that this is a waste of money and think better about solving problems on Earth. But the organizers do not agree. Their goal is not to create a ship, but to solve problems that hinder travel around the galaxy. If they succeed in this, then in 100 years it will be possible to send the first group of earthlings.
But the bottom line is that solving project problems will help to cope with problems on Earth. Scientists need to come up with a system of sustainable food production, effective medicine and sustainable energy. All these inventions can be used on the home planet. You can visit the project website http://100yss.org/.
Postscript
In 2012 with criticism senator Tom Coburn came out in the direction of the project. He was particularly touched by one of the seminars where the importance of finding life on another planet for Christian philosophy was discussed. He called the “Centenary Spaceship” a waste of the state budget. Well, the organizers do not hide that they are trying to solve all the problems, even if they are of a religious nature. What do you think?
