Earth Science: Geology, the Environment, and the Universe

Chapter 31: Galaxies and the Universe

Problem of the Week

To Infinity and Beyond: Can We Really Go There?

Discussion:

1. This exercise should create a great springboard for a lively and relevant discussion of space travel. As the students should see, travel to distant parts of even our own solar system, will tax the limits of time and technology, as it now stands. Students should be able to see that there are limits to where we might go on a manned mission at this time.
   
   Other factors that should be considered in long distance space voyages:
   
   
   • how to take enough food and oxygen;
   
   
   • what to do with wastes;
   
   
   • how to produce energy; what will be the fuel source;
   
   
   • The return journey
   
   



Also in this discussion the value of unmanned missions can/could be discussed here.

2. This second question asks students to think about advances in technology that would be needed to make long distance space travel practical. In this discussion topics that might be discussed
   
   
   • solar wind power/solar power
   
   
   • worm holes
   
   
   • science fiction technologies
   
   

Web Links:

Have students explore this "LookSmart" list of Web links related to space travel now and in the future.

http://www.looksmart.com/eus1/eus53706/eus53712/eus585265/eus77641/eus330255/r?l&

Answers:

1. *Note: To speed up this activity, distances in kilometers can be given and students can calculate the time for space travel in the Space Shuttle.

Calculations:
*Note: There are several directions students can come at these calculations. The suggestions below are but one of them!

From Earth to Moon:
As light:
Distance = Speed x Time
D = 3 x 10⁵ km/s x 1.3 s
D = 390 000 km

In Space Shuttle:
Time = Distance/Speed
X = 390 000 km/28 175 km/hr
X = 13.84 hr

From Earth to Pluto
As light:
Find number of seconds in 4 hours
4 hr x 60 min/hr x 60 s/min = 14 400 s
Distance = Speed x Time
D = 3 x 10⁵ km/s x 14 400 s
D = 4 320 000 000 km

In Space Shuttle:
Time = Distance/Speed
X = 4 320 000 000 km/28 175 km/hr
X = 153,327.4 hr (rounded to nearest tenth)
* Students can convert this to years
153,327.4 hr x 1day/24hr x 1 yr/365 days = 17.5 years

As light:
*Slightly different calculations can be used here because there are no conversions to make.
Distance = Time x Speed
D = 4.22 yr x 9.5 x 10¹² km/yr
D = 4.22 yr x 9 500 000 000 000 km/yr
D = 40 090 000 000 000 km

In Space Shuttle:
Time = Distance/Speed
X = 40 090 000 000 000 km/28 175 km/hr
X is approximately 1,422,892,635 hours
Change this to years and you would get approximately 162,430 hours

Reference Sites:

• Heavenly Proportions


• The Space Shuttle: Quick Facts


• Real and Scaled Distances of the Planets


• Our Cosmic Voyage