Last night, I gave the featured presentation during the Warren Astronomical Society’s online WebEx/YouTube meeting: The Challenges of Interstellar Travel. I cannot believe how much I learned putting this presentation together; honestly, there’s probably weeks more research I could do, and papers I could read. I discussed sending small probes and giant generation ships to the stars, and the enormous amount of energy, resources and manufacturing it would require. I talked about physical and mental problems related to space travel, and what it would take to keep humans alive during an interstellar voyage. I concluded my presentation suggesting maybe we should make sure all the life-support systems are functioning properly on the generation ship we all share, and are travelling through interstellar space aboard. The NASA at Home page has links to lots of online NASA resources for things to do at home – here’s a couple: Space Place parents and educators page: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/parents-and-educators/ Solar System Exploration’s 10+ things: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1192/10-things-to-do-with-nasa-at-home/ NASA … Continue reading →