The Interstellar Imperative: The Case for Robotic Exploration of Nearby Stars
How will we, or at least our robot minions, get to the stars? You might answer "Well, using light sails, of course!" As it turns out, this is only one possible answer and maybe not the best. This question has received diligent, serious attention from a vibrant and growing community of researchers and many exciting possibilities that do not violate the laws of physics as we currently understand them and could be achievable with current or near-future technologies are being explored. Aside from possibly making nearby star systems accessible, these propulsion technologies would be extremely useful within the Solar System and could make incredible projects, like the Solar Gravitational Lens, practical. Our speaker is one of the main instigators of this movement and is orchestrating the construction of prototypes and experiments for testing these ideas. His description of his talk is below.
The initial reconnaissance of our solar system is complete, with every major object having been visited by our robotic emissaries. Each world visited surpassed the expectations of our imaginations. The ongoing exoplanet revolution kindles similar aspirations and begs the question: Will we ever send spacecraft to the stars? This talk will argue that the most profound and motivating of questions, “Are we alone?”, can only be answered by direct exploration of other solar systems. Since characterization of biosignatures in exoplanet atmospheres made from earth will always remain ambiguous, it is likely that evidence for life around nearby stars will only be verified by in-situ observations. Fortunately, a stack of possible technologies exist to provide feasible, independent paths to the stars, enabling a robotic probe to return data within a human lifetime. Laser-driven lightsails, antiproton-catalyzed fission rockets, and particle-beam-driven spacecraft are credible means that could accelerate a robotic probe to 20% the speed of light. Significant challenges remain—this being the most difficult journey imaginable—but advances are being made as new concepts emerge. The existence of multiple paths ensures that, should showstoppers appear in a particular development roadmap, other approaches could be elevated to take their place. The talk will conclude with a look at some of the ongoing research into interstellar propulsion technologies at McGill University.
About Professor Andrew Higgins
Andrew Higgins is a professor of Mechanical Engineering, with Masters and PhD degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington, Seattle. At McGill University, he has taught courses on compressible flow, thermodynamics, combustion, space propulsion, and statistical mechanics. He has worked for 30 years on research in high-speed flow and shock waves for applications to aerospace propulsion and fusion energy and is now setting his sights higher by considering the engineering problems associated with interstellar flight. He is a surviving urban cyclist, an aspiring longboard surfer, and now learning to endure the Quebec winters with cross-country skiing.