Nasa Mars rover makes detailed crater image

[The Hammer]

That depends on how fast you're going. Assuming we can achieve the speed of light, it would take us a little over 4 years and 2 months to reach Proxima Centauri. At our current maximum speed, it would take thousands of years.

No one in his right mind would want to go to Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf flare star.

But I wish there was some way to send a probe to search for potential habitable planets around stable stars like HD 70642 and 1 Pegasi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_habitability

[Sweet Pea 50]

I don't think so.

List of stars next to us. Closest is 4.2 Light years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nearest_stars

I just did a search how long it takes us to do 1 light year. I have no idea but this dude wrote:

The nearest star to earth is the sun. It will take about 8 minutes to get there at light speed.

The closest star system that we know of is Alpha Centauri, located about 4.37 light years away (41.5 trillion km). If you traveled to Alpha Centauri at light speed it would take less than a second to get there, but only from your point of view. The eye observing the trip from earth will stare your spaceship for 4.37 years until you arrive. That is relativity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_paradox
4.37 years not counting acceleration and deceleration however since light speed is impossible lets put this into perspective:
at 75 mph it would take 38 million years
at 1350 mph (mach 2) 2 million years
at 40,000 mph (voyager speed) 70,000 years
That depends on how fast you're going. Assuming we can achieve the speed of light, it would take us a little over 4 years and 2 months to reach Proxima Centauri. At our current maximum speed, it would take thousands of years.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_w...#ixzz23YLOo15q

I never said it would happen in my lifetime, bud.

[Danny Gunz]

I think travelling outside of the solar system isnt likely unless there is some sort of breakthrough in physics

[THE REED]

I think travelling outside of the solar system isnt likely unless there is some sort of breakthrough in physics

Technology.

[Sweet Pea 50]

I think travelling outside of the solar system isnt likely unless there is some sort of breakthrough in physics

Could be. I don't think wormholes have been mathematically proven yet, and besides that, the technology to make use of one would be mind bending, I would think.

Maybe cryogenics might come into play for long term manned spaced missions in the future?

[THE REED]

Darren Mcfadden, DeMarco Murray, or Adrian Peterson.

[The Hammer]

Habstars (stars that may have habitable planets)

from wiki:

Qualities believed to be particularly hospitable to life:

- At least 3 billion years old
- On the main sequence
- Non-variable
- Capable of harboring terrestrial planets
- Support a dynamically stable habitable zone

The requirement that the star remain on the main sequence for at least 3 Ga sets an upper limit of approximately 1.5 solar masses, corresponding to a hottest spectral type of F5 V. Such stars can reach an absolute magnitude of 2.5, or 8.55 times as bright as the Sun, at the end of the main sequence.

Non-variability is ideally defined as variability of less than 1%, but 3% is the practical limit due to limits in available data. Variation in irradiance in a star's habitable zone due to a companion star with an eccentric orbit is also a concern.

Terrestrial planets in multiple star systems, those containing three or more stars, are not likely to have stable orbits in the long term. Stable orbits in binary systems take one of two forms: S-Type (satellite or circumstellar) orbits around one of the stars, and P-Type (planetary or circumbinary) orbits around the entire binary pair. Eccentric Jupiters may also disrupt the orbits of planets in habitable zones.

Metallicity of at least 40% solar ([Fe/H] = -0.4) is required for the formation of an Earth-like terrestrial planet. High metallicity strongly correlates to the formation of hot Jupiters, but these are not absolute bars to life, as some gas giants end up orbiting within the habitable zone themselves, and could potentially host Earth-like moons.

One example of such a star is HD 70642.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_70642

[BetterCallSaul]

Technology.

Do you think Jones will still be active by the time we put a man on another planet?

[THE REED]

Do you think Jones will still be active by the time we put a man on another planet?

[Konstantin]

Yeah we definitely slowed way down after the Moon race. I always look forward to news in space exploration. I almost busted a nut when the Cassini craft launched the Huygens probe to Titan a few years a go. The photos we got back aren't as beautiful as the ones we're seeing from Curiosity but it was still pretty bad ass that we sent a craft to successfully orbit Saturn and then launched a probe to one of the moons.

It really is amazing what we've done but there is so much that we don't know yet. Assuming all goes well, we will finally have some pictures of the flyby of Pluto in 2015 with the New Horizons craft.

We need another race.

With the Chinese or Indians maybe?