Interplanetary travel refers to the journey between planets within a solar system. It faces challenges due to the vast distances, requiring efficient propulsion, navigation, and support systems for both robotic and potential crewed missions. Uncrewed missions to Mars, Venus, and outer planets have provided crucial data for future exploration.
Spacecraft are necessary to overcome significant distance, time, and energy challenges. Missions must account for gravitational forces, orbital mechanics, and energy-efficient trajectories. Key technologies include propulsion systems, life-support for crewed missions, and thermal shielding to handle extreme conditions.
Reasons for becoming interplanetary[]
- A backup of mankind would be needed to survive an extinction event such as an asteroid impact that would affect Earth only. This would start with colonization of the moon where the major industries are launch platforms for spacecraft, orbital habitats and satellite systems. Space elevators could be used on moons for spacecraft launches due to lower gravity, and transport material and crew to planets. Colonization of other planets would begin, with advances in terraforming and spacecraft reaching high sub-light speeds. Self-replicating robot systems would be used for heavy industrial mining operations and colony construction. Once terraforming is fully under way, colonization of the entire solar system would ensue.
- Developing the capabilities for interplanetary travel drives innovation in fields like energy, transportation, and sustainability, which can benefit life on Earth.
- A possible depletion of Earth's resources could require us to extract minerals from asteroids or energy from gas giants like Jupiter. This would require orbital habitats around the gas giants. Gas giants could also be used for waste disposal, and their moons could be used to gather water and other resources necessary for sustenance.
- Scientific knowledge beyond the home planet and possible discovery of extraterrestrial life, even if it's microbial.
- Beginning the construction of a Dyson swarm.
Possible order of events[]
- Exploration of near earth asteroids e.g. Cruithne.
- High orbit space station
- Moon bases
- Manned exploration of Mars
- Terraforming of Mars is starting
- Space station at a Lagrange point
- Asteroid mining and habitats
- Large Martian colonies
- Space hotels
- Civilians on Mars
- Manned mission to Venus
- Manned mission to Jupiter's moons
- Gas giant mining and habitats
- Probes to the Kuiper Belt
- Manned mission to Mercury
- Probes to the Oort cloud
- Large civilian population on Mars
Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in a cradle forever.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky 1857–1935