I have an idea, since we cannot travel to other solar systems or galaxies because they are so far away WHAT IF

Question

Well, what if we put some robots in a spaceship and launch them into space and control them from earth while they travel through space for as long as they can and lets say a group of astronauts from this generation launched that space craft in 2008, then the space craft keeps traveling on & on pass Pluto & when new astronauts are hired, they take over controling the spaceship & the robots on board were the old astronauts left off after they retired & new astronauts keep doing this for generations to come until we reach another planet. It might take 50 to 100 generations but it would be worthwhile for our Great, GreatX100 grandchildren to finally see how long the space ship has traveled. WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK I KNOW IT MIGHT SOUND CRAZY!!!

Answer 1

Your idea is basically correct, and I'm sure that's how the first spaceships to other solar systems will operate.



The problem (as someone else pointed out) is that we cannot directly control the ship when it is so far away. It has to be programmed ahead of time to be able to respond to any situation that it might encounter. The 'robots' on board would in fact be the astronauts, controlling the spaceship. All we could do from earth is monitor the results.



The other main problem is propulsion. We would have to develop a rocket system that is either super-efficient at converting mass to energy (eg ion rocket) or can collect fuel from space as it passed through (the ram-jet idea). Practical rockets of this nature are still on the drawing boards and in peoples heads - they don't exist yet.



The final problem is that I don't know how easy it will be for the spaceship to send back information to us on what it has found. It will be a long way away - can a transmitter small enough to send there also be big enough to send information back to earth?



I hope that missions such as these are launched within my lifetime. But - they may not be.

Answer 2

Actually NASA considered this approach to space exploration a generation ago. I was privileged to attend a conference there in 1985, where the theme of the conference was manned exploration vs unmanned. Carl Sagan spoke, too. We already have at least three robots which have left the planetary solar system: Pioneer and both Voyagers. And these were among our first attempts at robotic exploration and they were stunning successes. Since then we have landed robot rovers on Mars and landers on Titan, Venus, into the atmosphere of Jupiter, around Mercury, and probably some others I don't remember. It is the wave of the future, especially as we are rapidly improving our ability to make sophisticated robotic explorers. I think, one day, someone will launch a vessel intended for interstellar travel and exploration. That will be another landmark, but as you correctly pointed out, none of us will be alive to see the results. So no, it doesn't sound crazy at all. In fact, the only problem with it is that such missions will be very expensive and may not be high on people's list of priorities. I'd like to see one before I die. I don't care what country launches it. Who wants to be first?

Answer 3

The nearest solar system is ~4 light years away. To 'control' a spaceship that far away would mean you are receiving signals from 4 years ago and then guessing what would need to be done another 4 years from the present.



Try driving down the highway blindfolded and guessing where the cars are from the traffic report 8 years ago.

Answer 4

For one, the robots would be quite capable of piloting the craft without human intervention.

The farther away you get, the longer it takes radio signals to travel back and forth, by the time the ship got to Pluto, turn around time is hours, making the ship uncontrollable by humans back on earth.

The biggest problem for space travel is FUEL, no current technology will allow interstellar travel beyond simply drifting there, which take thousands of years to get anywhere.

Even if interstellar travel were possible again the distance would make any signals sent take many many years to get back.