Our space-exploration ambitions have boldly taken humans to the moon, rovers to Mars and spacecraft to the outer reaches of the solar system. But could humans or spacecraft ever reach Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our planet?
Alpha Centauri is about 4.4 light-years (roughly 25 trillion miles, or 40 trillion kilometers) from Earth and is home to three separate stars. The closest star, Proxima Centauri, also hosts an exoplanet that scientists believe could have the conditions necessary for life.
But reaching this star system would be no small feat. NASA estimates that, using a space shuttle like NASA’s now-retired 122-foot-long (38 meters) Discovery, it would take close to 150,000 years to reach Alpha Centauri.
“Writer Fuel” is a series of cool real-world stories that might inspire your little writer heart. Check out our Writer Fuel page on the LimFic blog for more inspiration.
