When you think of space and space travel, what do you imagine? No doubt you think of a black expanse filled with amazing phenomena, ranging from dense luminous dying stars to vast, unending nebulae. Unlike our natural environment, space is still a largely unexplored territory that humans have wondered about for centuries. Starting with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren who first set foot on the moon on July 20th, 1969, space travel and space exploration have fascinated even the youngest imagination.
Especially in the science fiction world, space has become a widely discussed topic. Literature and film are full of the wild adventures of Luke Skywalker and Captain James Kirk, but can we really believe what they tell us? Can a ship really travel faster than light? Is it really possible to transport someone a huge distance by disassembling them molecule by molecule? Can you really recycle matter? All the answers to these questions are difficult to answer because, while theories exist to explain them, their feasibility remains a mystery.
Skeptics say that faster than light travel is an impossibility, as are transporters, devices that can move a person from one place to another and replicators, machines that can recycle matter and rearrange it into something else. Despite their criticisms, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), International Business Machines Inc (IBM), and other businesses have developed promising beginnings toward much of this futuristic technology.
This website offers a window into the world of the science behind several of the miraculous feats performed in science fiction while keeping a foot firmly rooted in reality. It also discusses the progress made by actual scientists in our century toward such technology. Despite what you may already know, we invite you to explore this website’s content and interactive experiences to further enrich your scientific knowledge. We hope you come away having learned something useful. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
ThinkQuest Team 00951 |
