How Long Is The Trip To Alpha Centauri With Our Current Technology?
Happy Holidays, fellow space explorers and curious people! Today we will be taking a short mental journey through the universe to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth. Have you ever wondered how long it would take to reach Alpha Centauri with today’s technology? Surprise! It is going to be a really, really long trip.
Alpha Centauri is approximately 4.37 light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year—approximately 9.46 trillion kilometers (nearly 6 trillion miles). Therefore, we are talking about an enormous amount of space.
Speed Limitations: Our Available Technology Compared to Space
Our fastest spacecraft to date is NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. Moving at a top speed of 700,000 km/h is incredibly fast for anything on Earth. However, it is extremely slow compared to the speed of light, which is approximately 300 million meters per second.
Some early concepts of interstellar mission proposals, such as the Voyager 1 probe, move at a snail’s pace of approximately 17 km/s. In other words, even though they are traveling in the direction of the stars, their speed is almost negligible compared to light speed. So how long would our spacecraft take to complete the trip to Alpha Centauri?
Voyager 1: Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 and is currently the most remote man-made object from Earth. It is slowly drifting away from Earth at a speed of approximately 17 km/s. It would take approximately over 70,000 years for Voyager 1 to arrive at Alpha Centauri.
Parker Solar Probe: The Parker Solar Probe is capable of reaching speeds of up to 700,000 km/h. While it is moving at an incredible speed, it is still moving at less than 0.07% the speed of light. It would still take Parker Solar Probe approximately 6,600 years to reach Alpha Centauri.
These times are truly mind-boggling and clearly do not allow for “quick” trips between the stars. We should also note that both Voyager 1 and Parker Solar Probe were built for within-the-solar-system-type missions; they were never intended to be used for star-to-star-type missions.
Future Concepts and Dream Missions
Propulsion concepts being explored, including Breakthrough Starshot, propose to completely revolutionize the types of propulsion systems that are available to humans. These concepts involve tiny, lightweight spacecraft propelled by powerful laser systems located on Earth. If the Breakthrough Starshot concept is successful, it could allow spacecraft to achieve speeds up to 20% faster than light. At this speed, the time required to travel to Alpha Centauri would be reduced to approximately 20 years. Although still many years, such an amount represents a significant reduction in the time required to travel to the stars compared to the tens of thousands of years associated with Voyager 1 and the Parker Solar Probe.
It should be noted that both Breakthrough Starshot and other similar concepts are still either in the experimental stage or the theoretical stage. Both of these concepts face numerous hurdles to become a reality, including problems related to the effects of heat and dust on the spacecraft during transit and the need to maintain communication between Earth and the spacecraft across vast distances of space (light-years).
Why Does This Matter?
While understanding these time scales helps us to understand the enormity of the size of the universe and our place in it, it also shows the incredible challenges that exist in terms of developing technologies necessary to travel between the stars.
However, the dream of exploring the universe continues to grow and drive innovation through our curiosity and desire to explore and discover. Each new mission we launch, each new technology we develop, brings us closer from the edge of the solar system today to the stars of tomorrow.
Final Comments
Would we want to jump into a rocket and visit Alpha Centauri tomorrow? Yes, absolutely! However, based on our current technology, the journey to Alpha Centauri will span a length of time greater than a single human lifetime. Nonetheless, it serves as a reminder of our place in space and the importance of continued exploration.
Thank you for joining me on this cosmic reflection. Next week, I’ll discuss the fascinating world of exoplanets—those planets that orbit the stars that are millions of miles away from Earth. Until then, continue to look up and wonder about the universe!