This topic contains a solution. Click here to go to the answer

Author Question: Why can't we send a space mission to a star system outside of our own? What will be an ideal ... (Read 40 times)

yoroshambo

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 566
Why can't we send a space mission to a star system outside of our own?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Can there be life on Mars? Is there proof that life existed on Mars? Defend your answer.
 
  What will be an ideal response?



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
Marked as best answer by a Subject Expert

sierramartinez

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 313
Answer to Question 1

The bottom line is that we just don't have the technology to support this kind of travel. The distances between stars are almost beyond comprehension. The fastest human device ever launched, the New Horizons probe currently on its way to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, will take about 90,000 years to travel the distance to the nearest star, 4 light-years. The obvious way to overcome these huge distances is with tremendously fast spaceships, but even the closest stars are many light-years away.

Nothing can exceed the speed of light, and accelerating a spaceship close to the speed of light takes huge amounts of energy. Even if you travel slower than light, your rocket would still require massive amounts of fuel. If you wanted to pilot a spaceship with a mass of 100 tons (about the size of a fancy yacht) to the nearest star, and you traveled at half the speed of light so as to arrive in eight years, the trip would require 400 times as much energy as the entire United States consumes in a year. Don't even think about how much fuel the starship Enterprise needs.

These limitations not only make it difficult for humans to leave the Solar System, but they would also make it difficult for aliens to visit Earth.

Answer to Question 2

There was a splash of news stories in the 1990s regarding supposed chemical and physical traces of life on Mars discovered inside a Martian meteorite found in Antarctica. A research group claimed that the meteorite contained chemical and physical traces of ancient life on Mars, including what appear to be fossils of microscopic organisms. That evidence has not been confirmed, and the claim continues to be tested and debated. From reviewing spectrographs of the Martian atmosphere, methane is most abundant in locations apart from volcanic regions, indicating the methane might be produced biologically.

Although measurements by the Curiosity rover have proven conclusively that Mars once had an environment that could have supported Earth-like life, evidence of life on Mars may have to wait until a future rover drills into the soil and discovers signs of metabolizing organisms, or a geologist astronaut scrambles down dry Martian streambeds and cracks rocks open to find fossils.

There is presently no compelling evidence for the existence of life in the Solar System other than on Earth.




yoroshambo

  • Member
  • Posts: 566
Reply 2 on: Jul 27, 2018
Excellent


okolip

  • Member
  • Posts: 362
Reply 3 on: Yesterday
Great answer, keep it coming :)

 

Did you know?

The human body produces and destroys 15 million blood cells every second.

Did you know?

Cucumber slices relieve headaches by tightening blood vessels, reducing blood flow to the area, and relieving pressure.

Did you know?

Illness; diuretics; laxative abuse; hot weather; exercise; sweating; caffeine; alcoholic beverages; starvation diets; inadequate carbohydrate consumption; and diets high in protein, salt, or fiber can cause people to become dehydrated.

Did you know?

Cytomegalovirus affects nearly the same amount of newborns every year as Down syndrome.

Did you know?

The senior population grows every year. Seniors older than 65 years of age now comprise more than 13% of the total population. However, women outlive men. In the 85-and-over age group, there are only 45 men to every 100 women.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library