The fastest spacecraft ever built was the Voyager 1 probe, launched in 1977. It is hurtling through interstellar space at 38,000 mph. However, the nearest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, is 4.3 light years away, or 25 trillion miles. At its current speed, Voyager 1 would travel the distance to Proxima Centauri 80,000 years in the future. Any manned spacecraft traveling that distance would need some way to last that time without the crew completely dying out. Below are several solutions to remedy the problem of the time frame of a space flight.
A cryogenic pod, or "cryopod", is a tank designed for human or animal use that freezes the cells in one's body for a given length of time. While thousands of years may pass in the outside world, a man in a cryopod would only age a matter of years. This way of sustenance significantly cuts down on the life support supplies necessary for an interstellar flight. Although vital nutrients must be intravenously injected into the skin, many of the body's processes are slowed. These cryopods are still being perfected, but when long flights throughout the galaxy might become available, they are a great way to avoid many problems of the flights themselves.
Therapeutic hypothermia is used to revive patients having cardiac arrest, which has been found to preserve brain function by slowing the body’s metabolism. Doctors cool the body with ice packs, intravenous solutions, and cooling blankets until they are able to get the heart and circulation moving again. Cyrogenic sleep can easily follow the same principles that doctors use today. By applying this technology in real space exploration, the entire observable universe is well within our reach.
A cryogenic pod, or "cryopod", is a tank designed for human or animal use that freezes the cells in one's body for a given length of time. While thousands of years may pass in the outside world, a man in a cryopod would only age a matter of years. This way of sustenance significantly cuts down on the life support supplies necessary for an interstellar flight. Although vital nutrients must be intravenously injected into the skin, many of the body's processes are slowed. These cryopods are still being perfected, but when long flights throughout the galaxy might become available, they are a great way to avoid many problems of the flights themselves.
Therapeutic hypothermia is used to revive patients having cardiac arrest, which has been found to preserve brain function by slowing the body’s metabolism. Doctors cool the body with ice packs, intravenous solutions, and cooling blankets until they are able to get the heart and circulation moving again. Cyrogenic sleep can easily follow the same principles that doctors use today. By applying this technology in real space exploration, the entire observable universe is well within our reach.