Stephen Hawking was recognized for merging general relativity with quantum mechanics, revolutionizing our understanding of black holes, and bringing large-scale cosmology to popular audiences in a series of books that have been and continue to be best sellers. In addition, he was a passionate advocate of space exploration.
The theoretical physicist, who passed away on March 14 at age 76, repeatedly emphasized that humanity must expand beyond its home planet, or face extinction.
“I believe that the long-term future of the human race must lie in space ,” Hawking said in an interview. “It will be extremely difficult to avoid a disaster on planet Earth in the next hundred years, and much more in the next thousand or millions. The human race should not have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Hopefully we can avoid it. let the basket of eggs fall until we have spread its load, “he declared in 2010.
Hawking reiterated that sentiment more recently. For example, at a conference in Norway in June 2017, he said: “ We are running out of space, and the only places to go are other worlds. It is time to explore other solar systems. Extending may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth. “
Starshot: Hawking’s interstellar dream
This British physicist, astrophysicist, cosmologist and scientific popularizer pointed out more times on this subject and joined all the projects that were moving towards this idea. He was a board member of Breakthrough Starshot , a $ 100 million project that aims to launch fleets of small sail-equipped space probes to other star systems. If all goes according to plan, the lasers will accelerate that “nanosword” to roughly 15-20% of the speed of light, meaning they could hit Proxima Centauri, the Sun’s closest neighbor, which is potentially home to a planet. habitable, just 20 years after takeoff.
The project, funded by Russian-born billionaire Yuri Milner, could launch its first interstellar probes in the next 30 years, Starshot representatives have commented.
Starshot’s nano-ship won’t transport humans, of course, but basic laser navigation technology could theoretically scale up to the transport dimensions of a crew, eventually allowing astronauts to reach Mars in just a few weeks ( it currently takes six to nine months to reach the red planet using current rocket technology).
Hawking longed to fly into space. In 2007, he flew aboard Zero Gravity Corp.’s Boeing 727 aircraft, which takes parabolic routes that allow passengers to experience brief periods of weightlessness.
Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson wanted to help Hawking achieve that dream. About a decade ago, Branson called Hawking and offered him a free ride on Virgin’s Spacehorn Space Two spacecraft. “I said ‘yes’ immediately,” Hawking recalled in a video message projected at the unveiling of Virgin Galactic’s new SpaceShipTwo vehicle. That message served to announce the name of the space plane: VSS Unity.
“Since that day, I have never changed my mind. If I can go, and if Richard is still taking me, I would be very proud to fly in this spaceship,” Hawking added.
He is the only person Branson has offered a free seat aboard the SpaceShipTwo, according to Branson. Tickets to travel in this six-passenger vehicle, which is still in the testing phase, currently sell for $ 250,000 each.
“His support to open up space, his enthusiasm for flying, inspired us all. I am very sorry that I did not take him into space as he so desired, but I am very grateful to be able to play such a significant role in the development of the new frontier that so much he was passionate about it, “Branson wrote on his blog.
