Could we ever leave our Solar System?
Climate change is altering our planet, and some have wondered if we may have to leave Earth to another distant planet. We will never escape climate change, and unfortunately, we will never leave the Solar System, and Earth may be our home forever. The Alpha Centauri system is the closest system to us.
Why can’t we go straight up in space?
If you wanted to escape the Earth’s gravity and explore the Solar System in the regular old way, you’d need to add about 10 km/s in velocity to your spacecraft. But for straight up, you’d need about 30 km/s, meaning more fuel, and compromises to your payload.
Why will astronauts never visit the outer planets?
Crewed missions to any of the outer planets would be extremely challenging. The planets themselves are known as gas giants because they are extremely big and have no solid surface! Humans would therefore not be able to land on them as there is nothing to land on!
Can you stay still in space?
There is no ‘still’ that is not relative to some other object. So yes, you can be still with respect to one object, but you’ll be moving with respect to every other object.
Has any humans been to Jupiter?
Mankind has been studying Jupiter for more than 400 years. But we’ve only been sending spacecraft there since the 1970s! Nine spacecraft have visited Jupiter since 1973, and they’ve discovered a lot about the planet.
Are there any spacecraft that have gone beyond our Solar System?
Five robotic spacecraft have sufficient velocity to escape the bounds of our solar system and travel into interstellar space, but only one—NASA’s Voyager 1—has crossed that boundary so far. Voyager 1 transitioned into interstellar space in 2012. Voyager 2 likely will be next.
Why are there no probes up in the Solar System?
If you wanted to escape the Earth’s gravity and explore the Solar System in the regular old way, you’d need to add about 10 km/s in velocity to your spacecraft. But for straight up, you’d need about 30 km/s, meaning more fuel, and compromises to your payload.
Is it possible for humans to travel to other solar systems?
Unless mankind finds a way to bypass the laws of Physics (not much chance of that) no matter how much we want to go there, most of the rest of the universe is beyond our lifespan. You would need to somehow make humans immortal, beyond boredom, and be able to feed them and take care of their needs for thousands of years to get there.
When did Voyager 1 and 2 leave our Solar System?
Voyager 1 transitioned into interstellar space in 2012. Voyager 2 likely will be next. Both spacecraft, launched in 1977, are still in contact with NASA’s Deep Space Network. NASA’s New Horizons, which flew past Pluto in 2015 and is currently exploring the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune, will eventually leave our solar system.