Interstellar Travel : An Astronomer's Guide

This book describes the many astronomical and human-scale issues that make interstellar travel a formidable challenge, even with the right technology for making the actual trip. Since the 1920's, science fiction authors have invented dozens of ways to make interstellar travel a reality. Sadly, after nearly 100 years of effort, scientists and engineers have yet to invent a single inexpensive technology to get us to the stars. What is more disturbing about this challenge is that the actual technology to make the trip is mostly irrelevant. Some of the issues are already known and being addressed such as: What will be our destination? How many travelers should go? What will happen to human health along the way? But the Big Picture of interstellar travel goes well beyond the design of the engines that power our starships. Once we arrive at our destination, what will we do? Will our immune systems be so compromised from the travel that we can never actually visit the surface of a biologically-active planet? What will we breath? Will we be forced to live 'under a dome' and never venture outside without a spacesuit? What kind of a reward will that be for a decades or centuries-long voyage? What will communication with Earth be like with time delays of 100 years? These and many other questions will be covered as astronomer Sten Odenwald explores the other issues and challenges of interstellar travel that arise from living in an unfortunately very limited physical world. He will also explore optimistic scenarios involving artificial intelligence and hibernation that could completely change the game in making interstellar travel a reality.