# Will Man ever reach the stars? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 20, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829 "2010-10-20T22:20:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/1 "2010-10-20T22:20:51Z")
Poll coming, but don’t let its lack inhibit your smart-aleckry. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/2 "2010-10-20T22:39:46Z")
We are only 8 light minutes from Sol. How close do you want to be before you suggest we reach the nearest star? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/3 "2010-10-20T22:43:04Z")
We will, but not by ourselves, our destiny is the stars and beyond. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/4 "2010-10-20T22:47:03Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > We are only 8 light minutes from Sol. How close do you want to be before you suggest we reach the nearest star? [General Zod] Why do you say these things, when you know I will kill you for it? [/general zod] > [@kanicbird](#): > > We will, but not by ourselves, our destiny is the stars and beyond. There are so many vicious things I could say that I can’t pick one. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/5 "2010-10-20T22:50:01Z")
Yes, we will reach the stars. The other option is extinction when the Sun dies. Men are amazingly tenacious creatures. We will find a way to leave this planet one day. Probably not within my lifetime, but it will happen. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/6 "2010-10-20T23:02:00Z")
I voted the third option, but fear that may be too optimistic. It may be the fourth. I’m not sure I understand the _Star Trek_-intelligent design linkage. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/7 "2010-10-20T23:07:03Z")
Yeah, I’m not getting the ID reference, either. But yeah, if we really want to, we will go to the stars, and I even think we’ll figure out a work-around for the whole light-speed limit thingy, but that may come after a few centuries of cryo/sleeper/generation ships. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/8 "2010-10-20T23:11:39Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > I voted the third option, but fear that may be too optimistic. It may be the fourth. > > I’m not sure I understand the _Star Trek_-intelligent design linkage. The existence of multiple, mutually-fertile humanoid species in the TrekVerse indicates to me that in that universe, our theory of evolution is wrong; life on Earth is the result of panspermia, and humans are specifically engineered to be bipedal, ten-fingered, talking tool-users. Intelligent design, in other words. I think it’s actually canon but I’m toolazy too look up the appropriate episode. Also I cannot recall the url to [MemoryAlpha](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Portal:Main). Anyway, what I meant by in the first two options is that we’ll find other sentient species similar enough to us that we can interact with them, or not. Interaction in any reasonable sense would require FTL, seems to me. Which I don’t think will happen. But then I never thought that Bill Clinton would be president, and I thought that Barack Obama might accomplish something worthwhile as president,so what do **I** know? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/9 "2010-10-20T23:12:54Z")
No. FTL speed is not possible: the notion contradicts the Special Theory of Relativity. The number of things that could and would go wrong with a generational ship are insurmountable. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/10 "2010-10-20T23:16:49Z")
I want option 3.5: Yes, but since FTL is impossible, the energies required to move anything over interstellar distances are so huge, and life support for squishy organic critters over a period of centuries is a very hard problem, we will send slower-than-light electronic AIs that might or might not qualify as “human” depending on your definitions. (And possibly frozen embryos or some such). ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/11 "2010-10-20T23:30:20Z")
No because there arent practical engineering options to do so, with humans or not. Otara ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/12 "2010-10-20T23:31:02Z")
Warp drive and/or wormholes haven’t been conclusively ruled out, and would technically allow FTL drive (tho the energy requirements would be horrendous and/or weird, in the case of negative energy, whatever that is). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/13 "2010-10-20T23:34:46Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > (And possibly frozen embryos or some such). Why would you do that, in your view? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/14 "2010-10-20T23:40:18Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why would you do that, in your view? (frozen embryos that is) In order to establish human life elsewhere in the universe; I’m not sure if, by the time we have the tech to send AIs and human-growing equipment across interstellar distances, we’ll still have any attachment to the old meatbag lifestyle, but it’s possible we will. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/15 "2010-10-20T23:42:55Z")
Also, I think there would be greater than zero communication with Earth; a multi-year time lag would obviously prevent any kind of conversations but I’d expect some kind of news service operating in each direction. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/16 "2010-10-20T23:46:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > No. FTL speed is not possible: the notion contradicts the Special Theory of Relativity. The number of things that could and would go wrong with a generational ship are insurmountable. FTL is part of big bang theory. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/17 "2010-10-20T23:48:44Z")
I can’t vote because my POV isn’t there. Physics is a cruel mistress, and we simply won’t be able to come up with a way to travel fast enough and/or long enough to even reach the closest star. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/18 "2010-10-21T00:19:16Z")
[QUOTE=Kurt Vonnegut] “You want to fly through space? God has already given you the most wonderful space ship in all creation! Yes! Speed? You want speed? The space ship God has given you goes sixty-six thousand miles an hour-and will keep on running at that speed for all eternity if God wills it.” [/quote] We’re already there. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/19 "2010-10-21T00:20:57Z")
Eventually if we can harness fusion power, we might be able to expand our industrial capacity to a point where we can afford to build Orion-type ships big enough to be colony ships, if we can find a reasonably hospitable and close world to go to. Advances in medicine, allowing stasis, longer lifespans etc would help. Here’s Wikipedia on the feasibility of interstellar nuclear-pulse ships: [Project Orion (nuclear propulsion) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion)#Interstellar_missions) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829/20 "2010-10-21T00:36:32Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > The existence of multiple, mutually-fertile humanoid species in the TrekVerse indicates to me that in that universe, our theory of evolution is wrong; life on Earth is the result of panspermia, and humans are specifically engineered to be bipedal, ten-fingered, talking tool-users. Intelligent design, in other words. Or convergent evolution. Panspermia does not preclude evolution, or require a _supernatural_ designer. However, my suspicion is that the _Star Trek_ depiction actually isn’t a very good model. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-man-ever-reach-the-stars/557829.md?page=2)