On this week's episode of Science and Star Wars....
Just flying around everywhere!
Space Travel.
Hello and welcome to Science and Star Wars where we explore
how close real-world science has come to our favorite Star Wars technology. I'm
Anthony Carboni and joining me as always is my good buddy on the wall, Hello my
name is Watson. We go way back today we're talking about one of the
most important parts of Star Wars, actually being able to visit the stars.
That's right spaceships, star fighters, Space Station's. You can't have Star Wars
without them. But will we ever live in space? Let alone visit stars millions of
light-years away? The answer is... hopefully
(hyperdrive breaks down sound effect)
Some private organizations are working on making space travel a reality for
everyone not just highly trained astronauts and we already have a space
station and people do live on it. I mean I'd live there if someone asked nobody's
asked it'd be nice to be asked. We're still just scratching the surface of
recent developments in space travel. IBM is working on something called quantum
computing which could be vital in solving optimization problems in space
travel. Quantum computing really changes the game for problems like optimization
for example route finding and looking for the shortest path between two
locations. You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon? It's a ship that made
the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs. For him to have done that my guess is
that Han Solo probably had access to a quantum computer how long before you
two make the jump to lightspeed? A few moments to get the coordinates
from the navicomputer. And the engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are
creating an ion engine which could be the next step to traveling beyond our
planet. Spacecraft are very maneuverable using ion engines they don't move as
fast but you're able to use them very efficiently instead. We're actually able
to go around the solar system and visit multiple destinations unlike most
missions where they can only do flybys if they want to go to multiple targets.
With this we're able to use less fuel to do more. Then the next step is plasma and
that would amp things up big-time like the Vaz Amir plasma engine which
could theoretically propel ships ten times as fast as chemical engines do now
plasma rocket is better than a chemical rocket or conventional rocket because
the exhaust is a lot hotter. The hotter you make the exhaust the faster the
rocket can move and the less fuel that it consumes. So the exhaust of the plasma
rocket the vascular engine is like three-and-a-half million degrees like
the Sun. While there is clearly a lot of work to do you have to be excited for
what the future holds. I know I am and I know someone who has first-hand
experience and I am so jealous. We are joined today by former astronaut Cady
Coleman a person who knows firsthand the challenging awesomeness of floating 249
miles above the earth. It is great to be here though. Oh it is so wonderful to
have you here, I have to know you spent a stint of a hundred and fifty seven days
living in space what was that like? I loved every minute of it I was not ready
to come home that day 159 the lack of gravity up there really gives us a
window into the way science works. We're learning how to recycle air recycle
water grow plants in a place where it's hard to do that one of my favorite
things that we did was the Spheres experiment these are these well you
should know, because it comes from Star Wars one of the professors at MIT,
David Miller saw that and said I want six of those and I want them on the
space station and they are helping us understand how do we get to Mars.
So you're basically using them to run simulations of how our future spaceships
and space stations will work. Exactly so what's happening
on the space station right now? I think the best way to show you that is to
bring you...TO SPACE!? I'm going to space with Cady Coleman! Not exactly but my
friend Jack Fischer is up there right now and he said he would give us a little
tour Jack. Hi Anthony and Cady! Welcome to the space station. Hi jack I would
love to show you around but since it's such a big place and we don't have that
much time I'll just show you the US section of the space station. Come on
this way this is Node 3. This is crazy, just flying
around everywhere. This is our treadmill which just so happens is mounted on the
wall, we have these handy-dandy harnesses that can strap this into it and simulate
gravity so that we get the benefit that we need for our bones and muscles that
have to have resistance in order to continue to grow so we don't lose bone
mass and muscle mass that earlier astronauts had such a problem with.
Come check this out. This my friends is the cupola, seven
windows of viewing and photo-taking nirvana. Oh I missed that it's a special
place to be when you look out at the horizon to see that you realize you're
in a spaceship orbiting in the earth
That's unbelievable. I told you it never stops this is the U.S. laboratory we
have all sorts of things this place is full of systems to provide the resources
for the experiments or the experiments themselves because we're doing science
24 hours a day seven days a week on the inside and the outside. So out of all the
research up here what is it that you feel the best about in terms of making a
difference for people on earth? One of my favorite things that we're doing in here
right now is called ATC and it's immune activating antibody but I call it a
cancer seeking missile it goes after cancer cells that we actually have grown
on the station and targets them that'll increase effectiveness of chemotherapy
and reduce the side effects that affects so many people including my daughter
that suffer from this terrible disease. That is fascinating well Cady and
Anthony I hope you enjoyed the tour aboard the wonderful place we get to
call home the International Space Station, but I got a lot of work to do so
I'm gonna get back to the science see you next time thank you Jack thanks Jack
it's so amazing I love talking space, I love talking to space too and I just
found that out today thanks to you Cady Coleman thank you also to Jack Fischer
NASA and cases for that awesome encounter as always be sure to visit
IBM.com/starwars for more science I'm ready for space I want you to know
that um I can see that okay