Today, we're bringing Kepler 22-b
into our planetary neighborhood.
Located 635 light-years away from Earth,
Kepler 22-b is the first exoplanet
discovered inside of the habitable zone
of a Sun-like star.
And that means Kepler 22-b has a chance
to be covered with liquid water.
While it’s still not known whether it’s rocky,
gaseous or liquid,
we do know it’s pretty big.
Kepler 22-b is almost 2.5 times larger
and about 36 times more massive than Earth.
Based on its distance from its own star,
in our Solar System,
Kepler 22-b would exist somewhere between Earth and Venus.
And if it orbited there,
you’d get a magnificent view of the planet in the night sky.
It would appear about as large as
15% of our own full Moon.
Now, our Sun is slightly bigger and hotter than
Kepler 22-b host star, Kepler 22.
And that increase in temperature
might make it too hot to host life.
Also, why should Kepler 22-b get its own orbit,
when it could share ours?
What could possibly go wrong with that?
If Kepler 22-b was to snuggle comfortably into our orbital path,
there are only a few places it would be able to go.
They're caled Lagrange points.
One of those points
would be on the exact opposite side of the Sun from Earth.
But unfortunately,
that would come with a few downsides.
For starters, you wouldn't ever be able to see it.
That's because it would always be behind the Sun
from our perspective down here on Earth.
But worse than that,
this location wouldn’t guarantee it a stable orbit.
It could get derailed and head directly toward Earth.
And that would be the end of life on both worlds.
But at least you’d end up with a decent view
when the two planets were on a direct collision course with each other.
The better, more stable option would be for Kepler 22-b
to nestle into orbit
at the Lagrange points located
60 degrees ahead and behind Earth.
Here, a third body could maintain a consistent orbit around the Sun
and not get gravitationally pulled into Earth.
Then, Kepler 22-b would have a chance of hosting its own life.
This planet is about 500 million years younger than Earth.
And if it formed in our Solar System
at about the same time Earth did,
it would have more than enough time for various life-forms to evolve.
Maybe even intelligent ones.
Think about how amazing it would be to visit our neighbor
and maybe even establish communication with
whoever or whatever inhabited Kepler 22-b.
But even with this new Earth 2.0
safely sharing our habitable spot around the Sun,
getting to it would be a bit of a challenge.
You see, our planet is constantly being pulled toward the Sun
by the Sun’s enormous gravity.
But it’s also
trying to move straight into space
at the speed of 108,000 km/h (67,000 mph).
So if we wanted to visit Kepler 22-b,
we’d have to manage to counteract that sideways motion of our planet.
Otherwise we’d keep moving sideways
and we’d miss our new planetary neighbor.
The best thing you could do
is swing around Venus for a little gravity assist.
This is a technique that allows your spacecraft
to increase or decrease the energy of its orbit.
In other words, you could use Venus
to slow down and arrive at your destination.
Now, all these maneuvers would require a lot of fuel.
And time.
The trip to Venus alone would take you about four months.
And then you'd have to apply the gravitational brakes
while approaching Kepler 22-b,
adding even more time to the journey.
But finally you’d arrive
and be the first person ever to see this massive Earth-like planet up close.
And the first thing you’d notice
is that it would be rotating on its side,
just like Uranus.
This would mean that its north and south poles
would either be flooded with sunlight
or shrouded in total darkness for six months of the year.
Yeah, you'd discover that the climate
might not be as pleasant as you might have hoped.
Your two options would be freezing cold,
or boiling hot.
But you shouldn’t lose hope.
There’s a strong possibility you could find that Kepler 22-b
is covered in a superocean.
And if it was at least 50 m (165 ft) deep,
this ocean could regulate these temperature extremes.
As you landed,
you could even find them within a comfortable range
of 15 to 22 °C (60-72 °F).
But that wouldn’t be an indicator
to take your spacesuit off just yet.
There’s still the possibility that 22-b
wouldn’t have a breathable atmosphere.
But no matter what kind of environment you'd find,
you'd need to build yourself a habitat.
This would help you maintain air pressure,
temperature and the composition of the air you need to breathe.
You could even 3D print this habitat
using the planet's resources.
And you’d want to make sure that
it could protect you from radiation,
just like our own atmosphere and magnetic field.
Right now,
we really don't know all that much about this not-so-distant exoplanet.
But if Kepler 22-b was in our Solar System,
that would give us plenty of time to send space probes
and study it before you ever set your foot on the surface.
As a result, by the time you started your mission to Earth 2.0,
you'd already know what kind of temperature and air this world had.
If Kepler 22-b was so close to us,
settling on it could be easier than moving to Mars.
Once you settled on the planet,
you'd start desalinating its ocean water
and set up hydro and solar power stations.
Now, food, on the other hand,
would be a bit tricky.
Initially, growing plants imported from Earth
would require greenhouses with regulated temperatures
and humidity levels
to keep your favorite potatoes from dying.
But as you studied the planet more,
outdoor gardens could become a reality.
Or you could start developing a taste for the high-protein algae
that you might find growing in the superocean.
And if you're really lucky,
you could discover life.
Maybe even intelligent life.
But it doesn't seem likely that you'll do that.
Because Kepler 22-b didn't form in our Solar System.
If you ever wanted to land on its alien surface,
you'd need to travel hundreds of light-years
and be prepared to overcome a long list of obstacles.
OK, so what if you did travel all the way to Kepler 22-b?
Well, that’s a story for another WHAT IF.