Chapter 1
The neighborhood is too big
Chapter 2
Einstein's absolute speed limit
Chapter 3
The ridiculous fuel bill of interstellar travel
Chapter 4
Space is actively trying to kill us
YOUR GOAL
Master of Why we might never leave our solar system
Ch 4 · Space is actively trying to kill us
artiteacher Interstellar Radiation Hazards
Deep-space rays / tearing through cells / keeping us home
artiteacher Trapping future generations inside a closed metal container in the deep void raises ethical questions about children who
artiteacher Space pebbles explode like atomic bombs against the hull of a fast starship.
Fun Fact
Dust collision: A collision with a single grain of sand at 20% light-speed would instantly vaporize standard spaceship armor.
Glossary
interstellar dust (noun)
Microscopic particles of matter floating in the space between star systems. At twenty percent of light speed, a single grain impacts a spacecraft with the force of a grenade.
Microscopic particles of matter floating in the space between star systems. At twenty percent of light speed, a single grain impacts a spacecraft with the force of a grenade.
Quiz
At 10% the speed of light, a 1-milligram dust grain collision is equal to what?
Quiz
What main psychological challenge do interstellar crews face that Moon astronauts did not?