Trip to Saturn

[caribsci]

Can someone please tell me how long it would take for us to get to saturn?I'M a little puzzled as i was reading that these probes take like 7 years to get there.or did i misunderstand the article.

[SaberBlade]

If I remember right, Voyager 1 took about three years. That said, if Earth is at it's closest to the Sun and Saturn is furthest from it, then distance time would greatly vary.

[caribsci]

so a manned ship would take how long?

[Goose]

so a manned ship would take how long?

It's impossible to say, really, but if Voyager 1 took three years, I'd say that that's probably a good figure to apply to manned flight as well. Of course, it all depends on what kind of rocket is used, where the planets are positioned, etc... But count a few years at least with modern technology (not that modern technology would really allow a flight to Saturn to begin with, but hypothetically).

[DigiFluid]

It quite literally depends on the alignment of the planets. When launching probes, NASA/ESA/etc use planetary gravity wells to accelerate and slingshot the probes so they get to their destination faster. As said above, it could take as little as a year, but without proper planetary alignment to take advantage of (a circumstance which depends on the proper alignment of numerous moving parts making calculations exponentially more complicated), the length of the trip may take exponentially longer than that.

[caribsci]

thanks a lot for the answers guys.i was just wondering..........Dark AGES be damned......but y are we not on other planets yet.i thought it would take a bazillion years or so.

[Goose]

thanks a lot for the answers guys.i was just wondering..........Dark AGES be damned......but y are we not on other planets yet.i thought it would take a bazillion years or so.

Money, mostly. It'll take a heck of a lot of cash to get anywhere past lower-Earth orbit.

[caribsci]

yeah but i think if its important enough that money can be pulled out of a hat.

[Pharaoh Atem]

just use a tardis

[Nolamom]

yeah but i think if its important enough that money can be pulled out of a hat.

Important is a relative idea - compared to what? Feeding the malnourished? Educating the ignorant? Treating the sick? Protecting those in danger? Providing for the aged? Maintaining employment? Unfortunately the hat isn't unlimited, and choices have to be made. I'm not saying that all the choices our society has made have necessarily been good or wise (or bad for that matter), but they are choices that have already been made and have reduced our ability to make other choices, like space exploration. Pharaoh Atem has a good idea - get a TARDIS.

[Goose]

Important is a relative idea - compared to what? Feeding the malnourished? Educating the ignorant? Treating the sick? Protecting those in danger? Providing for the aged? Maintaining employment? Unfortunately the hat isn't unlimited, and choices have to be made. I'm not saying that all the choices our society has made have necessarily been good or wise (or bad for that matter), but they are choices that have already been made and have reduced our ability to make other choices, like space exploration. Pharaoh Atem has a good idea - get a TARDIS.

Amen. Space exploration is important, but not as important as dealing with the problems back home on Earth.

[Flyboy]

The only tangible reason for space exploration is exploitation. Plundering the resources of other planets in the solar system is, imo, likely to be the only thing that will truely reinvigorate Earth's expansion into the stars.

[Ben 'Teal'c would WIN!!' Noble]

Yes lets build the Earth Empire. Muhahahaha .

[Galileo_Galilee]

You guys might want to take a look at this page of technologies that do benefit humanity that were developed by the space program before you guys condemn it:

http://techtran.msfc.nasa.gov/at_home.html

[DigiFluid]

I don't think anybody here condemned it.