We are bounded in a nutshell of Infinite Space: Week 10: Free Form #13: The Future of Space Travel
The next stages of space
travel is one we all share, something which is entrusted to our generation, our
birthright, and our future. But, we will only get to the future by standing on
the shoulders of giants, to quote Stephen Hawking. As such there is already a
great deal of work being done to prepare humanity for our future among the
stars, much of which is owed to the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. Nowadays, NASA is preparing for the next great step for
mankind, the arrival of humans to a completely different planet, Mars. But this
is hardly accomplished in a single day, rather years have gone into the making
of the technologies which will propel us (literally) to the red planet. One
such innovation which is currently being tested and prepped for its missions to
deep space is the Orion Spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS). These
products of ingenuity are the basis for our future among the stars, Spacecraft
able to support humans on the longest voyages since the era of exploration some
centuries ago. Orion will be the actual module astronauts will travel in to
arrive on Mars, having facilities for life support as well as modules for
propulsion and a Launch Abort System which would mitigate the dangers of the
most perilous part of spaceflight, getting off the ground.
Additionally, the
SLS is an impressive cohesion of several solid rocket boosters and fuel tanks
which make it the most powerful rocket in history. The SLS will be the rocket
which launches Orion on its missions to our neighboring planets, giving it
enough power to Orion to slingshot around the Moon, and ride along till
arriving at Mars. Furthermore, there are other technologies just beyond the
horizon which will change our views of space travel forever. Just think of ion
propulsion, orders of magnitude more efficient than the traditional chemical propulsion,
using ionized electrons from Xenon and other elements to produce the thrust
which will propel future missions. Not only this, new technologies like Solar
Sails and other fuels and propellants are the future of our exploration and
further understanding of our stellar backyard. After all, if we don’t find ways
to continue moving, eventually we won’t have a planet to call home simply
because the Sun will explode in a fair amount of time, but staying on Earth is
not the ultimate future for humanity, of that I am sure.
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