Principium The Newsletter of the Initiative for Interstellar Studies™
Issue 10 | August 2015
o News - Dragonfly, Pluto and Dysprosium o Wormholes come to London (2) o Wormholes - Stargates to the Cosmic Neighbourhood o i4is goes Stratospheric o Icarus Interstellar: Project Voyager o What we did at the WorldCon (2) o How do we survive on a distant world? o What’s in Principium 11
Scientia ad sidera Knowledge to the Stars www.i4is.org
A letter from Kelvin F. Long
a high quality looking web site, attended or organised It has been a very exciting time for i4is and many events, including Dysprosium, The World as we approach our three year anniversary in Science Fiction convention, The Philosophy of the September, it is appropriate to reflect on all that has Starship symposium, the Physics of Wormholes been achieved by our outstanding team. symposium. Our team continues to produce other We have formalised our core committees and output, including outstanding art, music albums, each is now doing productive work focused towards books, smart phone app - there are so many activities our mission of interstellar flight. The educational that we are having to pause and consider how best to academy committee led by Rob Swinney is working manage the organisational development for improved with multiple schools and universities, including the sustainability and growth. International Space University. They are also I am really excited about all that has been developing an innovative curriculum which we hope achieved, and also the work we do with our partners, to launch next year. particularly the British Interplanetary Society and the The technical committee, led by Andreas International Space University. Then with successful Hein, is pushing forward multiple small projects, and achievements in spaceflight, such as the amazing our flagship Project Dragonfly, for which we have just New Horizons arrival at Pluto, and the continued completed a highly successful crowdsourcing discovery of exoplanets around other stars,....it really campaign and the delivery of four excellent technical does feel like the time for the stars is approaching. I team reports looking at laser-sail based propulsion. can't wait to begin the next three years work and I The Sustainability & Development want to thank everyone in our team for their committee, led by Professor Rachel Armstrong, is contributions, too many to name, although Gillian looking at more Starship Cities events and how we Norman, John Davies, Alex Storer, Terry Regan and can best work with architects to emerge Starship Angelo Genovese deserve a special mention in technologies from the ground up. dispatches. The Enterprise (business) committee, led by As I close this introduction for the current issue of myself is thinking carefully about how to best our in house magazine Principium, don't forget to incubate new ventures and innovations and to assist look up the Icarus Interstellar Starship Congress the next generation of entrepreneurs to fulfil their Hackathon which takes place 4-5 September, Drexel dreams. University, Philadelphia (see News item below). It's In addition to our committees, we have our sure to be a lot of fun for those involved. defined our own legal constitutional articles, created Kelvin F. Long Executive Director The Initiative for Interstellar Studies
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Editorial In this edition you will find the account of the thrills and spills on you the former next time and your second part of the account by Kelvin the way to the show. editor will be doing his best to find a Long of our Wormhole symposium, "How do we survive on a distant reporter from the next TVIW! "Wormholes Come to London". This world?" by Roger Dymock considers Our front cover feature is "i4is includes the contributions of Silke what we might face on a habitable goes Stratospheric" with a brief Britzen, Tiffany Frierson, Remo planet of another star. account of the balloon experiment Garattini and John Davies. Our News this time begins with which, amongst other achievements, On a related theme, we have the the upcoming Starship Congress displayed the i4is logo at its greatest feature "Wormhole-Stargates: and the New Horizons triumph at altitude so far! More about this in Tunnelling through the Cosmic Pluto - there is a connection! We our i4is Goes Stratospheric! And for Neighbourhood" by Eric W. Davis. also mention another SF outreach, the rear cover we have Pluto and We very much welcome an this year's UK Eastercon. And Charon as seen from New Horizons, account by Zachary Fejes of the finally an item about the Dragonfly courtesy of NASA, of course. These Icarus Interstellar Project Voyager, a workshop of June 2015. We will be images join the work of other talents software development for covering Project Dragonfly in more who have kindly provided their work interplanetary and interstellar detail in later editions. We have to to Principium - Stavros Hios, David navigation. disappoint readers who were Hardy, Alex Storer, Jon Lomberg Our first major international expecting a meditation on the and Adrian Mann. We will be event, the 2014 WorldCon, the interstellar implications of the featuring the best work from these World Science Fiction Convention, Rosetta comet probe and its Philae and other visual authors in future took a lot of preparation and we lander and a report from the 2014 editions of Principium. hope you will be entertained by an Tennessee Valley Interstellar We have now reverted to 3 Workshop (TVIW). We hope to bring column layout; give us your views. John I Davies, Editor Principium News
of just over 12,500 km. We'll be Starship Congress analysing the implications of Project Dragonfly this major stepping stone to the 2015 stars in later issues of Workshop Principium. In this issue we Dr Ralph McNutt, a congratulate the team on their Project Dragonfly is the first distinguished interstellar design and execution of this international contest to let advocate, will be a keynote mission and feature a composite students shape the future of speaker at Starship Congress of Pluto and its companion interstellar travel. 100 backers 2015. Dr McNutt is Co- Charon on our back cover. pledged £6,387 (€9,000, Investigator of the New Horizons $10,000) via Kickstarter to help mission to Pluto (see below and i4is at Dysprosium bring this project to life, our back cover). He led the NASA including a most generous NIAC (NASA Institute for As we promised, i4is contribution from Dr Vinton G Advanced Concepts) project "A continues its outreach to the Cerf, one of co-creators of the Realistic Interstellar Explorer" in science fiction community with Internet. The four finalist 1999. Starship Congress 2015, attendance at the national UK student teams came to London Interstellar Hackathon, annual Eastercon. This year it to present their concepts for a September 4-5, Drexel was Dysprosium at London's laser-push probe to a jury and University, Philadelphia, PA, Heathrow Airport. John Davies interested peers on Friday, July USA. See the ad at the end of explained how to derive 3rd. Written reports were this issue of Principium Tsiolkovsky's rocket equation by assessed beforehand and, taking including the supporting cheating (slightly), we sold many into account the presentations Kickstarter. copies of Beyond the Boundary at the workshop, the final (see our ad at the end of this ranking was - 1. Technical New Horizons - Pluto issue) and we met the endlessly University of Munich, 2. imaginative SF community CranSEDS (Cranfield University July 2015 saw the NASA New again. More in the next issue of UK and associates) 3. UC Santa Horizons spacecraft successfully Principium. Barbara 4. Cairo University. execute a flyby of the dwarf More in our next issue. planet Pluto to within a distance Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 3
Participating teams & i4is staff at the i4is Project Dragonfly Laser-Sail workshop
Judging panel members at the i4is Project Dragonfly Laser-Sail workshop
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Feature: Wormholes Come to London, "Interstellar Wormholes: Physics and Practical Realisation" Part 2 Kelvin F. Long
The first report from our November 2014 event, "Interstellar Wormholes: Physics and Practical Realisation" was in Principium 9. Look there for the first presentation "Space- Time Metrics from Black Holes to Worm Holes and the Einstein-Rosen Bridge".
Observations of Black Holes – Towards the Event Horizon Our second speaker at the include the static, neutral telescope may even be able to detect Wormhole event was Dr. Silke Schwarzschild black hole (1916), a so-called black hole shadow, Britzen, of the Max-Planck Institute the static but electrically charged which is caused by the photon for Radio Astronomy, from Bonn, Reissner-Nordstrom black hole sphere around a gravitating object. Germany. Her topic was (1918), the rotating but neutral Kerr Finally Professor Britzen electromagnetic radiation covering black hole (1963) and the rotating discussed an innovative paper titled the whole spectrum from the radio but charged Kerr-Newman black “Distinguishing black holes and up to Gamma-rays, and the spectral hole (1965). wormholes with orbiting hot spots" energy distributions of Active For these objects the black hole (Zilong Li and Cosimo Bamb, May Galactic Nuclei (AGN) such as mass is hidden within either a ring 2014) which discussed the Seyfert 1, Blazar Mkn 501 and or point singularity and in general possibility that supermassive black Quasar 3C273. The Global Very they were defined by the ‘no hair’ hole candidates at the centre of Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) theorem which simply states that galaxies might be wormholes forms a virtual telescope with an objects can be fully defined by their created in the early universe, Earth-like diameter to give the mass, spin and charge. connecting either two different highest angular resolution in Supermassive black holes are regions of our Universe or two terrestrial astronomy. To search for important to understanding how the different universes in a Multiverse wormholes in AGN was one – among first galaxies formed, and how they model. The Very Large Telescope many other scientific reasons – to and black holes have evolved Interferometer (VLTI) instrument, build the radio antenna in space: together. This is also crucial with GRAVITY, will have the capability to This may include active galaxies as regard to our understanding of image blobs of plasma orbiting near current or former entrances to cosmological evolution. Our own the innermost stable circular orbit wormholes, see Astrophysics of galaxy contains a supermassive of the black hole in the centre of our Wormholes, N.S. Kardashev, I.D. black hole of approximately 4 own galaxy. The secondary image of Novikov, A.A. Shatskiy (2006). million solar masses. a hot spot orbiting around a The theory of black holes There is a proposal for a wormhole would be substantially originates from Albert Einstein’s telescope that may be able to see at different from that of a hot spot General Theory of Relativity. Black unprecedented resolution around around a black hole, because the holes are essentially specific black holes. This is the Event photon capture sphere of the solutions of the vacuum field Horizon Telescope (EHT) which wormhole would be smaller and its equation of Einstein’s gravity. would have dramatic increases in detection could thus test if the Different types of black hole resolution and sensitivity compared centre of our galaxy harbours a solutions have been proposed. They to the existing VLBA. Such a wormhole rather than a black hole.
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Silke Britzen shows a very energetic astronomical object (left) and Remo Garattini expounds on Casimir and Einstein (right)
Traversable Wormholes and the Casimir Energy in Modified Gravity
Professor Remo Garattini is a experimentally by the Philips repulsive forces between the closely senior i4is researcher and wormhole Laboratories. This effect is induced spaced material boundaries which expert from Bergamo University, when the presence of electrical depend on the configuration Italy. conductors distorts the zero point geometry, on temperature, and on Remo began by discussing the energy of the quantum the electrical and mechanical Einstein field equations and electrodynamic vacuum. Two properties of the boundary surface. explaining the Einstein tensor and parallel conducting surfaces, in a This is responsible for some of the stress-energy tensor. There is a vacuum environment, would attract the properties of thin films and has possible solution to the field one another by a very weak force to be taken into account in the equations which neatly describes that varies inversely as the fourth investigations of surface tension and both black holes and wormholes, power of the distance between them. latent heat. the standard Schwarzschild This kind of energy is a purely In gravitation, astrophysics and solution. The traversable wormhole quantum effect and no real particles cosmology, the Casimir effect arises metric was derived by Morris and are involved, only virtual ones. It is in space-times with nontrivial Thorne in 1988 even if, it was evident that, separately, each topology. The vacuum polarization Ludwig Flamm the first one who contribution coming from the resulting from the Casimir effect can recognised that the Schwarzschild summation over all possible drive the inflation process. In the solution of the Einstein’s field resonance frequencies of the cavities theory of structure formation of the equations represents a wormhole. would be divergent and devoid of Universe due to topological defects, Note that the term ‘wormhole’ was physical meaning but the difference the Casimir vacuum polarization introduced by John Wheeler in between them in the two situations near the cosmic strings may play an 1962. The detailed mathematics (with and without the plates) was important role. show how to produce equations for well defined. In atomic physics, the long-range the radial pressure and negative In Quantum Field Theories, the Casimir interaction leads to energy density and pressure. Casimir effect gives contributions to corrections to the energy levels of Is it possible for a gravitational the total nucleon energy in the Rydberg states. field without external sources to quantum chromodynamic bag A number of the Casimir-type sustain the traversability of a model of hadrons. This has effects arise in cavity Quantum wormhole with the help of a applications to spontaneous Electrodynamics when the radiative gravitational Casimir effect? This compactification of extra spatial processes and associated energy references research done by Hendrik dimensions in Kaluza-Klein field shifts are modified by the presence Casimir in 1948. This original work theories, gauge theories, SUSY, of the cavity walls. In mathematical hypothesised that the zero point SUGRA, and string theory. In physics, the Casimir effect has energy was responsible for the condensed matter physics, the contributed to the development of Casimir effect - later confirmed Casimir effect leads to attractive and zeta functions and heat kernel
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expansion techniques for the wave functionals. The challenge introduced by Maguejio and Smolin regularization and renormalization then is to show how this is in 2004. The price you have to pay of infinities. connected with Casimir energy. It is the introduction of two unknown Therefore, it appears that the is assumed that there will be a functions depending on the ration Casimir effect has multidisciplinary boundary located at the wormhole E/Ep, where Ep is the Planck applications. However for the throat and the other at infinity. energy and E is the energy of the traversability the wormhole it is When computing the zero point graviton. Such functions, call them fundamental because it represents a energy (equivalent to the Zeta g1(E/Ep) and g2(E/Ep) enter the source of negative energy density function) in these two metric since the beginning and they mimicking exotic matter, which is configurations with the same activate at the Planck scale in such the basic ingredient to obtain a asymptotic behaviour, you are a way to give finite results, at least traversable wormhole. To do essentially computing the Casimir in the first approximation. calculations in practice, it is better energy of the gravitational field Remo concluded by saying that to separate the metric of space-time itself. Remo's conclusions were semi-classical Einstein field from Einstein’s gravity into a that, in theory, quantum equations were a source for self- background and a perturbation fluctuations of gravity could sustain consistent solutions. The obtained term. The Einstein tensor can also the wormhole, but there is a need ‘traversability’ would have to be be divided into a part which is for a regularization and regarded as ‘in principle’ rather unperturbed and related to the renormalization procedure to than ‘in practice’ due to the background geometry and a part eliminate the quantum divergences. wormhole radius likely. In this related to quantum fluctuations. Nevertheless, using a distortion of procedure, what is really Remo showed how to compute gravity termed ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’, fundamental is an amplifying the expectation value of the it is possible to avoid such a mechanism which is very difficult to perturbed Einstein tensor, using a regularization/renormalization implement. variational procedure with Gaussian scheme. Gravity’s Rainbow has been
Using Micro-Wormholes in Interstellar Communications Tiffany Frierson is an i4is researcher and a student researcher in Icarus Interstellar. Tiffany skyped in live from the US to deliver her contribution to the Wormhole event. She started by discussing radio frequencies and optical systems, as typically used by NASA’s Deep Space Network. Radio frequency systems had been recommended as the main communication system for the British Interplanetary Society 1970s Project Daedalus study but lasers are also a candidate for long distance communication. Tiffany argued that RF systems are better understood and tested, but laser systems offered higher data rates, less power requirements, smaller equipment and less signal dispersion. We need a solution that will Tiffany skypes in across the Atlantic reduce (or eliminate) current interstellar communications issues, However quantum field theory be vacuum fluctuations and these and one possibility is a faster than permits the generation of negative could, in theory, be focused. light solution – which may be energy density from the quantum In such a set-up, the energy permissible using wormholes. vacuum, and very small amounts of density will be negative near the Using wormholes to facilitate negative energy have already been focus of the parabolic cylindrical interstellar communication would demonstrated in the laboratory by mirror. have the benefits of instantaneous the Casimir effect. A better Tiffany finished by suggesting or near-instantaneous technology for generating negative that we will realise a micro- communications between Earth and energy to build wormholes may be wormhole before a human or starship. In addition, the space by the use of parabolic mirrors, starship sized one is produced. A short-cut would reduce the signal where every incoming ray of light micro-wormhole requires much less distortion issues. Tiffany cautioned that is parallel to the mirror’s axis negative energy than a larger one. that engineered wormholes would would become focused at one point. As an example calculation, for a require negative energy densities Instead the incoming energy could wormhole with one millionth of a and possibly lots of exotic matter. Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 7
metre diameter, requires a negative very large number. Engineering the out wormhole engineering, we can energy of around ten to the power of actual wormhole will be difficult, utilize it to vastly improve thirty seven Joules; which is still a but not impossible. Once we figure interstellar communication.
“Wormholes in Science Fiction” The Wormhole event publication of Carl Sagan’s novel Pullman (1997), ‘Diaspora’ by Greg presentations ended with John ‘Contact’ (1985), which features an Egan (1997), ‘The Light of Other Davies talking about fictional use of intergalactic network of paired Days’ by Arthur C Clarke and wormholes. wormholes – like the London Tube Stephen Baxter (2000) and ‘The Beginning with a quote from J. map! The novel ‘Timelike Infinity’ by Algebraist’ by Ian M Banks (2004). G. Ballard ‘Fictions of Every Kind, Stephen Baxter, from his Xeelee The latest contribution to the 1971’, “Everything is becoming sequence, also featured a “towable subject of science fiction wormholes science fiction. From the margins of wormhole” Published more than ten is, of course, the film ‘Interstellar’ an almost invisible literature has years before similar ideas in Iain M. (2014) directed by Christopher sprung the intact reality of the 20th Banks ‘The Algebraist’ and several Nolan, which features wormholes century”. Fiction has used different years before J. Michael devised by the physicist Kip Thorne, types of worm holes. Big ones for Straczynski's ‘Babylon 5’. already mentioned extensively in the which you could fit a ship or a The TV series ‘Babylon 5’ built hard science part of the Wormhole person through, little ones sufficient its own wormhole, in contrast to the event. Thorne mentions in his for photons and information Star Trek ‘Deep Space Nine’, where associated book that the CGI effects transport, and related concepts a convenient nearby wormhole team at Double Negative, the visual such as use of extra dimensions. brings new plot material every week effects/computer animation John began with Alice’s to the show. It is worth noting that company, had produced new Adventures in Wonderland (1865), both shows aired for the first time in physics insights by applying maybe the rabbit hole is just a large 1993, and one can only speculate if Thorne’s equations. wormhole where Alice falls without there was any connection between John ended the presentation feeling it. Lewis Carroll went on to the screen writing. Wormholes were with a movie clip from ‘2001: A write ‘Through the Looking-Glass imagined very differently in 1994 Space Odyssey’, which shows the and what Alice Found There' (1871) with the first airing of ‘StarGate’, astronaut Dave Bowman going on a a way to an opposite chirality using ancient unearthed technology trans-galactic voyage through some through a portal like television's for interstellar transport. kind of wormhole. For a moment, Stargate. Other notable novels which perhaps, the audience felt like Alice A major event in the science featured wormhole-like technology in Wonderland. fiction of wormholes was the include ‘The Subtle Knife’ by Philip
John ponders wormholes in Lewis Carroll
Panel: The Practicality of Wormhole Engineering” At the end of the day, the about cosmology and the interpretations of quantum speakers assembled as evolution of stars. The panel mechanics and cosmological panellists to discuss physics, were asked about evidence for a models which permitted such a cosmology, gravity and all things Multiverse. It was the possibility. wormholes. This was chaired by consensus of the panel that The wormhole meeting was Rob Swinney. Topics included there was no evidence currently voted a great success, with the probability of natural or to support such an idea, but discussions continuing in the artificial wormholes, questions Kelvin referred to interesting usual way at the local pub!
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Rob Swinney (Chair), Kelvin F Long, Remo Garattini, John I Davies, Silke Britzen at "Interstellar Wormholes: Physics and Practical Realisation" i4is Symposium at BIS, 24 November 2014
Feature: Wormhole-Stargates: Tunnelling Through The Cosmic Neighbourhood Eric W. Davis exam, at the request of Carl Sagan or spherically symmetric vacuum It was many years ago when who had then completed the draft of regions. science fiction media (TV, film and his novel Contact. However, even Einstein-Rosen novels) began to adopt traversable Sagan wanted to follow the genre bridges can be made traversable by wormholes, and more recently of what I call science “faction”, an infinitesimal tweaking of their “stargates”, for faster-than-light whereby the story’s plot would rely spacetime metric. (FTL) interstellar travel schemes on real physics concepts to make it Wormholes are hyperspace that allowed their heroes and more realistic and technically tunnels through spacetime heroines to travel the cosmic plausible. This little exercise ended connecting together either remote neighbourhood. Little did anyone up becoming one of the greatest regions within our universe or two outside of relativity physics know cottage industries in general different universes; they even but that in 1985 physicist Kip relativity physics – the study of connect together different Thorne and his students at CalTech traversable wormholes and time dimensions and different times. had in fact discovered the principle machines. Space travellers would enter one of traversable wormholes right out Real stargates exist in principle; side of the tunnel and exit out the of Einstein's General Theory of they are merely a form of what are other, passing through the throat Relativity (M. S. Morris and K. S. called traversable wormholes, and along the way. Unlike black holes, Thorne, Am. J. Phys., 56:395-412, they are one type of FTL propulsion. traversable wormholes do not have 1988; M. S. Morris, K. S. Thorne These are unlike the well-known, an event horizon or a singularity on and U. Yurtsever, Phys. Rev. Lett., non-traversable Einstein-Rosen the inside that obstructs the throat, 61:1446-1449, 1988). Bridges or Schwarzschild nor is there any crushing Thorne and collaborators did this wormholes that are formed from gravitational field anywhere inside as an academic exercise, and in the collapsed stellar matter (black holes) the tunnel/throat. form of problems for a physics final Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 9
Space travellers going through a To produce the spacetime A few theoretical physicists traversable wormhole do not violate geometry of a stable traversable harbour a strange prejudice against Einstein’s Special Theory of wormhole, one requires an exotic the idea of producing large amounts Relativity by always remaining form of matter whose rest-energy of negative vacuum energy to inside their local light-cone along density and/or internal pressure construct traversable wormholes. their time-like trajectory while must be “negative” or its internal So nearly 40 years ago and moving below light speed through pressure must be greater than or thereafter, a few theoretical the wormhole between interstellar equal to its rest-energy density. physicists derived theoretical departure and destination points. There are two other variations on constraints against the creation and This is because the wormhole’s this theme. In comparison, the use of large amounts of negative unique spacetime geometry acts to matter that we are all familiar with vacuum energy over long time tilt-over the space travellers’ local in our daily lives has positive rest- intervals, which they call the light-cone, thus giving rise to their energy density and positive or zero Quantum Inequalities (QI) (L. H. apparent FTL motion between stars internal pressure. The exotic matter Ford and T. A. Roman, Sci. Am., as seen by remote outside static must be distributed locally in a 13:84-91, 2003). observers whose local light-cones finite volume of space in such a way The QI are an ad hoc version of are far away from, and unaffected that it threads the throat of the Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle by, the wormhole’s spacetime wormhole. in curved spacetime, and they state geometry – the light-cone of space Negative rest-energy density that the larger the amount of travellers moving along their time- and/or negative pressure produce negative vacuum energy one like trajectory through the wormhole the gravitational repulsion that is produces, the shorter the time lies within the space-like needed to open a topological “hole” interval one has available to use it. hypersurface of the remote outside or “tunnel” through spacetime. However, the QI have been re- static observers’ light-cones, thus The greatest misunderstanding evaluated by many theoreticians the space travellers undergo FTL about exotic matter being over the past 15 years and the motion between stars as seen by perpetrated by certain academic verdict is they are not generalisable outside observers. physicists and science news writers to any 4-dimensional curved Another interesting consequence is that it is fictional or that it does spacetime, while astronomical of the spacetime geometry of not exist. That claim is false. observations and lab experiments traversable wormholes is that the It is very well known that produce results that contradict their space travellers’ local proper time quantum field theory predicts exotic constraints (E. W. Davis, JBIS, through the wormhole can be the matter, and there is a very long list 66:68-84, 2013). Recent theoretical same as the local proper time for of the different types of exotic attempts to replace the QI with remote outside static observers, matter that are predicted to exist: something better have not thus eliminating any undesirable there are a few types that occur succeeded. relativistic time dilation effects. naturally in our universe, a few that Another proposed constraint Using traversable wormholes as are man-made, and many others against long-lived traversable time machines is beyond the scope that are theoretically predicted but wormholes is the effects of quantum of this discussion, because we are not yet experimentally discovered back-reaction on the wormhole’s only interested in their potential for (E. W. Davis, JBIS, 66:68-84, 2013). spacetime geometry. FTL interstellar travel. Cosmological dark energy, Quantum back-reaction is the Traversable wormholes are having positive rest-energy density distortion of quantum vacuum zero- creatures of classical General and negative pressure, is one point fluctuations – in the form of Relativity Theory allowing for very example of naturally occurring nonlocal Hawking radiation and comfortable travel through the exotic matter and there are other local vacuum polarization – that is cosmic neighbourhood. Wormholes types that remain to be discovered, produced by spacetime curvature can possess normal or backwards all of which are responsible for the (a.k.a. the gravitational field) which (in special cases) time flow, normal observed values of the cosmological is simultaneously accompanied by or nonexistent gravitational stresses parameters of the universe (M. the back-reaction of the two on space travellers moving through Visser, Science, 276:88-90, 1997). distorted-vacuum fluctuation effects the throat, and their entry/exit Examples of the man-made types upon the spacetime curvature. A openings (or throats) can be of exotic matter include, but are not recent study has shown that the spherically shaped, cubic shaped, limited to, the negative vacuum order of magnitude of quantum polyhedral shaped, or generic energy and negative vacuum back-reaction effects on traversable shaped, etc. A by-product of pressure associated with the wormholes is << 1030 compared to traversable wormhole studies has Casimir effect and the squeezed 1 for the case of black hole event been the development of wormholes vacuum states of laser beams – horizons, so quantum back-reaction possessing flat entry/exit openings most of the types of man-made and has a very negligible impact on (E. W. Davis, AFRL-PR-ED-TR-2003- theoretically predicted exotic matter traversable wormholes (E. W. Davis, 0034:2-11, 2004). are a special type of quantum JBIS, 66:68-84, 2013). These are essentially what a true vacuum energy which is preferred Einstein’s General Theory of “stargate” or flat doorway through for traversable wormhole studies. Relativity does not include assembly spacetime would be. Energetics There are even classical (non- instructions for traversable considerations and mathematical quantum) scalar fields that have wormholes. How does one deploy theorems show that traversable exotic matter properties which could negative vacuum energy or other wormholes with the lowest energy be used to produce traversable forms of exotic matter to assemble a requirement to construct are those wormholes, if they are found to traversable wormhole? Does one that have a single throat (or tunnel). exist. Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 10
need to pull a traversable wormhole traversable wormhole will depend whether it is feasible to engineer from out of the putative quantum largely on 1) the type of exotic and test in the lab. spacetime foam (i.e., Planck length- matter that one chooses to assemble It is possible that new technical sized multiply-connected- the wormhole and 2) the particular implementations or new quantum fluctuations of spacetime geometry) type of wormhole throat geometry, field boundary conditions or and enlarge it to macroscopic scale, which serves as further input to interacting quantum fields will be or will wormhole engineers need to wormhole stability analysis, discovered that can produce large produce extremely large spacetime determining the tidal gravitational amounts of negative vacuum energy curvatures to “punch a hole through forces exerted on the starship crew, in the lab. The engineering space” (i.e., change the topology of etc. Additional theoretical studies parameter space for the quantum spacetime), and then stabilize either along with trial-and-error lab optics devices that produce approach using negative vacuum experiments will need to be done in squeezed vacuum states will also be energy? order to address the interstellar explored to discover whether new The spacetime-geometrical navigation issue. implementations can produce and instructions for constructing a Modern energetics analysis of isolate negative vacuum energy in traversable wormhole are even more traversable wormholes shows that scalably large amounts. strange: 1) take two copies of flat arbitrarily small (i.e., near zero) Other recently published spacetime, one each near the amounts of exotic matter are the proposals for creating traversable departure and destination stars; 2) minimum that is required to create wormholes using classical remove identical hypervolumes (i.e., and stabilize a traversable wormhole electromagnetic fields and other 3-dimensional surfaces of 4- (E. W. Davis, JBIS, 66:68-84, 2013). non-exotic matter approaches are dimensional spacetime) from each However, as the amount of exotic also undergoing evaluation. An spacetime; 3) identify at the matter decreases to arbitrarily small integral component of this boundaries (i.e., “sew” the two values, the longer it will take a experimental program is the leftover “holes” together to form a starship to traverse the wormhole construction and testing of a throat). How this can be translated and reach its interstellar destination quantum optical tomography- into a practical engineering as measured by the clocks of remote balanced homodyne detector that blueprint will require further outside static observers, while the will be used to spatially and theoretical studies accompanied by travel time and distance through the spectrally image the negative trial-and-error lab experiments. In wormhole will become intolerably vacuum energy that is produced by any case, the bad news is that a long for the starship passengers. quantum optical squeezed vacuum series of past and recent In the opposite extreme, the states, Casimir cavities, and the cosmological observations have not shortest travel time and distance cylindrical-parabolic mirror device found any evidence for quantum through a wormhole can be had in (E. W. Davis, JBIS, 66:68-84, 2013). spacetime foam in the universe. what are called “short-throat” A future version of this detector The good news is that the traversable wormholes which will visually image the location of problem of changing the topology of require a total energy of 1044 rthroat the negative vacuum energy that spacetime has been solved. (Joules), where rthroat (meters) is the future wormhole engineers produce Studies of a new quantum size of the wormhole throat. This so that they will be able to gravity approach in 2-dimensional amount of negative energy is manipulate and shape it to space and 3-dimensional spacetime, impossible to engineer, and construct a traversable wormhole. which is not a theory of gravitons physicists and engineers will likely While theoretical research on but of shape-shifting spaces, have to find the optimal amount of traversable wormholes continues to explicitly show that the topology of negative energy that can be evolve and address old and new spacetime can change, thus produced for an optimal traversable technical issues, it will be important supporting the creation of wormhole. At present, laboratory to focus that research on developing traversable wormholes (S. Carlip, Casimir cavities and quantum optimal technological sources of Sci. Am., 306:40-47, 2012). optical squeezed vacuum states scalable negative vacuum energy or Another complication is that produce extremely minute amounts other forms of exotic matter, and General Relativity Theory does not of negative vacuum energy. simultaneously develop optimal provide any recipes for navigation, An experimental program by this technical solutions for the guidance and control through author and co-workers is underway construction of traversable traversable wormholes to the at the Institute for Advanced wormholes and their navigation, desired interstellar destinations. Studies at Austin in Austin, Texas guidance and control laws for The technical description of a to explore the negative vacuum interstellar travel. This remains a trip through a traversable wormhole energy that is (theoretically) rich area for multidisciplinary is simply given by the proper time produced by using a cylindrical- engineering-physics studies in and distance of travel through its parabolic mirror to focus quantum academia and industry, which could throat as measured by space electromagnetic vacuum zero-point bear much fruit in the future if more travellers who always move on time- fluctuations onto the focal line of effort could be expended on like curves, while the velocity of the mirror (L. H. Ford and N. F. developing traversable wormholes their starship through the throat is Svaiter, Phys. Rev. A, 62:062105, for interstellar flight. always less than the speed of light 2000; Phys. Rev. A, 66:062106, (M. S. Morris and K. S. Thorne, Am. 2002). This device will be evaluated About the author: Eric W Davis, J. Phys., 56:395-412, 1988). to ascertain how much negative Ph.D., FBIS, AFAIAA, is a senior Whatever proper time and vacuum energy it produces, whether research physicist at the Institute distance values one desires for their it is scalable and controllable, and for Advanced Studies at Austin, in interstellar journey through a Austin, Texas, USA. Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 11
Cover Story: i4is Goes Stratospheric Kelvin F Long In January of 2015, a team that the launch was a huge success maximum height. The on-board planned to launch a balloon to high and the balloon flew from Northern electronic heating system they altitude; the mission was called Ireland to Oxfordshire. The balloon designed and built worked “like a Shackleton 2. The project was led by drifted 100 miles off course but the charm” and kept their iPod fully Sam Harrison and Daniel Parker. team was able to recover it. The working at minus 70 degrees The mission was launched on total flight time was around 3.5 Celsius. They did have a tracking Sunday 11th January from hours. link to the probe but the software Enniskillen airport in Northern The probe maxed out at 89,000 failed and they couldn’t get that Ireland, after negotiating CAA ft (27 km, 17 miles) after a frozen working. The i4is logo was loaded launch approval, with the aim to helium fill line burst due to the onto the probe and was one of the take a ‘selfie’ of the external display extreme cold caused by the images taken by Shackleton 2 at around 120,000 ft, the target expanding gas which meant they before the camera battery ran out. altitude. We are pleased to report couldn’t fill it up enough to reach its
Shackleton 2 Flight Path (left) and science payload (right)
The probe went to 89,000 ft density drops to 0.028 kg/cubic oxygen is prevalent in the upper which is 27.13 km or 16.86 miles meter. The speed of sound drops stratosphere due to the above sea level, which placed it from its sea level value of 340 m/s bombardment of UV light and the firmly into the stratosphere, the to 299.9 m/s. destruction of both ozone and second major layer of the Earth’s This is also the point in the diatomic oxygen. The mid atmosphere just above the atmosphere where the temperature stratosphere has less UV light troposphere and below the is layered because ozone (O3) passing through it; O and O2 are mesosphere. The temperature at absorbs high energy UVB and UVC able to combine. This is, therefore, this height is around –50 degrees energy waves from the Sun and is where the majority of natural ozone Celsius or 223.8 K and the pressure broken down into atomic oxygen (O) (O3) is produced. is around 20 millibars. The air and diatomic oxygen (O2). Atomic
Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 12
Preparing for launch of Shackleton 2 (left) and the mission flight Team Sam Harrison and Daniel Parker (right)
Shackleton 2 went above the cruise altitudes of both the supersonic commercial airliner Concorde and the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.
The height that the probe went be 4.4 light years away, to our achievements, but real world to is above the altitude of nearest star, but getting our logo to tangible steps to the practical commercial airliners (typically 89,000 ft has to count as a tangible realisation of interstellar flight. 30,000-39,000 ft) and is above the starting point. The photos clearly Demonstrating transport through operational height of the supersonic show the i4is logo with the the atmosphere, and eventually jet Concorde (typically 59,000 ft). It curvature of the Earth in the beyond it, is an essential is even above the ceiling the background, inspiration for the prerequisite for any space aspiring legendary Lockheed SR-71 future. team. Blackbird spy plane (typically The i4is team are very excited 85,000 ft). about this achievement which A huge congratulations to Sam shows we are starting to put our Harrison and his team. It may not minds not just to theoretical
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Shackleton 2 at 89,000 ft with the i4iS logo and the curvature of the Earth clearly visible on the horizon
Shackleton 2 at 89,000 ft high up in the Stratosphere with the Sun in the distance, our closest star.
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Icarus interstellar: Project Voyager - planning interplanetary and interstellar missions Zachary Fejes
Project Voyager, associated with systems. Mission planning will be continuously updates a rough Icarus Interstellar, surrounds the beautifully intuitive, taking cues approximation of your trajectory development of an interplanetary from modern video game design. based on the manoeuvres you lay and interstellar mission planning Mission simulation will be at least out. Mission simulation takes this tool. This is being built as a next as detailed and accurate as the best approximation, calculates a more generation tool for space agencies, software on the market, and we aim accurate path, and overlays it on academic institutions, and space to make it even better. the map. By seeing the difference, it enthusiasts the world over. The software has three major becomes much simpler to correct Voyager is in essence a map components: the space map, trajectories and iterate through which will allow users to plan mission planning, and mission mission designs. missions to other planets, asteroids, simulation. Mission planning is comets, and even other star done in real time, as the map
The inner planets are the first things we have to deal with.
Space Map 2050 AD. Time can be altered and One of the most interesting the entire map re-positions challenges facing the development of Voyager features a detailed, high instantly, and accordingly. the software is the approximation of definition, and visually stunning Each object has a vast store of the trajectories of nearby stars. This space map which will include all relevant information for planetary subject has been researched in the planets, asteroids, and other bodies scientists, spaceflight engineers, past, but an accurate approximation within our solar system - as well as and science students which can be of relative position vs. time has not all star systems and known accessed with the click of a button. been documented. We are currently exoplanets within 15 light-years. The map is also extendable researching and developing our own The map is dynamic, with all objects which allows for the addition of algorithm for this approximation positioned in their actual locations newly discovered asteroids, and will be utilizing our finding is at any time between the years 2000- satellites, or exoplanets on the fly. the space map. Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 15
Mission Planning Voyager is being built around the will support mission planning for a metrics, including Delta-V usage concept of real-time mission variety of different propulsion and orthographic projections, are planning - which means that as systems - from classical rockets to calculated automatically with each soon as you modify an orbit, you see ion thruster systems. new manoeuvre. Mission planning the change. Using modified patched Mission planning is designed to with Voyager is designed to be conics, it is possible to quickly and be quick and intuitive, providing the painless and straightforward, while easily proof out mission ideas while user with not only instant feedback, maintaining the accuracy and data maintaining the accuracy expected but with self-updating mission analysis required for even the most of first order mission plans. Voyager documentation as well. Important demanding of space missions.
Mission Simulation Beyond first-order mission space agencies, and enable more documentation, reporting, and planning, Voyager makes use of a hands-on space science education mission analysis. powerful set of simulators to enable for budding scientists and engineers Voyager has been built from the detailed assessment of trajectories all over the world. Voyager can be beginning to make use of a modern and manoeuvres. Once a mission used for initial mission planning, 3D interface, stunning visuals, and has been prepped, the simulator detailed analysis, and potentially an accessible learning curve which - can take over and assess the plan in even as in-flight mission software along with its accuracy and order to create a much clearer idea for modern spacecraft. capabilities - makes it a powerful of what happens. As the Younger space companies will educational tool. The software is calculations finish, a visual output benefit from having access to designed to be accessible by of the simulation is overlayed on the accurate, flexible, and powerful students from elementary, to post- space map, along with an expanding mission planning software - giving graduate levels of education. cone to indicate mathematical them a better chance of success in Further, the accuracy of the divergence of accuracy. This the market, and enabling them to software makes Voyager fit for powerful tool allows for iterative play on the industry stage much academic research as well. mission design. The user lays out a faster. It is a perfect platform to give For younger students, it acts as basic plan, the simulator responds young space organizations a boost an interactive space map - excellent with the realistic result, and the into orbit. for both teaching, and for hands-on user can iterate their design as Voyager is also intended for learning. For high school and required. established space organisations in university students, it is a powerful Our Mission is to accelerate the the private or public sectors, which physics tool, ready for use in both
Asteroids can be tricky! growth of the space sector by can benefit not only from the above lecture and laboratory settings. As providing better tools to all levels of mentioned system capabilities, but an educational tool, Voyager can this industry. Through the the ease of integration into existing provide an incredible tool for development of novel mission environments. Our software can educators the world over. planning and analysis tools we can provide a standardized system for The core functionality of the boost the success rate of young mission planning, which can export software will be completed this space companies, enhance the data into a variety of formats. It also month, and general development capabilities of mature government provides complete capabilities for will be continuing through the year.
Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 16
We are looking forward to Dynamic Universe" is at showcasing an early version of the About the author: Zachary Fejes is http://news.discovery.com/space/p software at Icarus Interstellar’s the Project Lead for Project Voyager roject-voyager-a-map-to-navigate- Starship Congress this September at Icarus Interstellar. our-dynamic-universe-141209.htm in Philadelphia. If you are interested http://www.icarusinterstellar.org/t in trying out the software in its eam/zachary-fejes/. Zach's piece for development stage, please join us at Discovery magazine "Project the conference. Voyager: A Map to Navigate Our
How do we survive on a distant world? Roger Dymock
Before departure
Having read a number of books starting point for populating its characteristics need to be for our and articles on the subject of another world – let’s call it Earth II. survival there. I am not considering interstellar travel I noted that these I write this on the basis of what terraforming as I am assuming we were almost, if not totally, we know today – the distant future can find a suitable planet without concerned with the voyage and not may of course be very different. going down that road. It is much the end result. By ‘end result’ I Human life on this world could end beloved of those who wish to live on mean establishing a colony on a abruptly in a number of ways - that Mars but, unless you can find a way distant world (exoplanet in it will end is without question. Our of stopping the solar wind ripping astronomical language). I then Sun has another five billion years to away the atmosphere, generating a happened across Lewis Dartnell’s live until it runs out of hydrogen at magnetic field and stabilising the book ‘The Knowledge – How to its core but in a billion years the axial tilt of that planet, your efforts rebuild our world from scratch’. Sun will have warmed so as to make will be in vain. Prior to arrival we This described how the survivors the Earth a very unpleasant place. need to know (possibly via a robotic of some disaster might reboot All life will have been extinguished sample return mission or advanced civilisation on planet Earth. It so hell on Earth it will truly be. observation from Earth) for seemed to me that this was a good Let's take a step back from example; arriving on Earth II to consider what
the evolutionary state of its Sun-like star Earth II’s orbital period, rotational period, axial tilt and stability thereof the presence and strength of the planet's magnetic field its atmospheric make-up its geology (land, water, presence of ores, vegetation) its biosphere (microbial and larger life, soil chemistry) the presence and evolutionary state of intelligent life
It would seem reasonable to struggle to adapt to different cycles ability to genetically modify the choose an Earth II which had a and environments so we don't need human body to cope with different similar year and day to our present to present ourselves with environments. home. Our bodies and any plants unnecessary difficulties, although it and animals we take with us might may be that we will develop the
On arrival As far as the evolutionary been in the best interests of the be left behind? There is no need for state of intelligent life on Earth II - local inhabitants but perhaps we this to be too painful as just by what would be in our best interests? can do better. Perhaps ‘settlement’ preventing any new births all If we talk of colonisation (in Earth’s is a better word. Most likely only a human life would be extinct in a history that has meant invasion) relatively small number of Earth's hundred years or so. then our previous Earthly inhabitants could be transported to So let’s jump to Earth II. On adventures have not necessarily Earth II so what of those who would arrival, priorities for the settlers will Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 17
be the same as they always have which is why living near a river is horses or similar beasts that are been - shelter, food and water. essential. there!! We also will need to know Possibly with very advanced robotics Maintaining good health poses where we are so mapping and we could (as has been suggested for many difficulties. We know about defining a coordinate system will Mars) prepare the ground prior to Earthly diseases but will know need to be a high priority activity. our arrival. So where would we nothing about what is rife on Earth We will need to generate touch down? Assuming we have II. Setting up and maintaining the electricity – solar, wind and water chosen an Earth II similar to Earth complex medical facilities we are power are possible for starters but then, as did early European man, used to will not happen overnight. A we will initially have to rely on on the coast and near a river mouth small colony would be very prone to whatever tools and technology we and a forested area would be a good being wiped out by a single infection take with us or send ahead and set place to put down roots. so it might be advantageous to split up by robotic means as mentioned The sea and river are good the new arrivals into a few groups. earlier. sources of food and water and, as This has its problems as, Finding raw materials and exploited by early man, highways for knowing how we behave today; all processing them will be a key factor exploring the planet. The landing sorts of differences and rivalries in enabling the settlers to progress. site would need to be in the planet's might soon arise. This leads to Stone, wood, clay may be the easiest temperate zone to avoid climatic government - what would work to obtain and work so they may extremes. Even if robots do prepare initially and for the future? Do we satisfy the settler's initial needs for the ground and make available yet have an ideal form on Earth one shelter for example. Longevity of some of our needs we would very might ask? technology is absolutely key – soon need to live off the land. On Earth we take good and nothing (yet) lasts forever. Star Food – deciding what is edible and immediate communication for Trek’s replicator would be useful - a what is not, would not be an easy granted. We need that facility on facility which would accept any task. Growing Earth crops on Earth Earth II to link separate colonies material as input, break it down II becomes essential for our survival and those exploring this new land. It into protons, neutrons and – if they are to have a good chance might take a while to set up the electrons, and rebuild those into of surviving on Earth II that planet instant forms of electronic any element required. Where needs to be very much like Earth communication we have become science fiction leads science fact particularly in terms of climate and used to. might do well to follow. seasons. For some time modes of We have amassed a vast Simple cooking and preservation transport would be fairly basic – collection of knowledge so we would skills may need to be re-learnt. For hence the need to locate near water want, need, to transport that to our agriculture, and much else, we need so that boats could be used. It will far off planet. Some is public and to know the time and date. This may take a while to develop modern day some is not (both government and seem obvious but on a new world it methods of transport and the means business data). In what form, as will be essential to establish an to fuel them. Maybe we will have to technology is going to be fairly basic accurate calendar. Water too – revert to horse power if we can find for a while?
Conclusion I hope that the points I have themselves without any support overcome the challenges discussed raised show that settling on an from back home so we need to look here but being able to fairly quickly exoplanet is a task of size and at a transit time of months rather transport materials and complexity that mankind has never than hundreds if not thousands of infrastructure to our new world will yet undertaken. It seems to me that years. In that way we should be able surely be of significant help. we can't sensibly entertain the idea to come and go pretty well as we We have a few billion years to go of journeying to and settling on a please. Why months - well that is so these methods may not be as distant planet using today's how long it used to take to travel to fanciful then as they seem now. technology (a bit like attempting to any destination on Earth using Our primary goal must be go to the Moon by building a better sailing ships so it is as good as settlement - the journey is a means sailing ship). anywhere to start. to an end. Rocket scientists won't like it but That takes us into the realm of About the author: Roger Dymock is generational starships or any form time travel and wormholes. a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical of reaction propulsion and/or Professor Kip Thorne thinks using Society and the author of 'Asteroids suspended animation don't cut the wormholes is a possibility so that, and Dwarf Planets and How to mustard – the ‘right stuff’ just ain’t and faster than light travel, are Observe Them' ISBN 978-1-4419- right enough anymore. where we should be putting our 6439-7, Springer 2010. We just cannot send people off to money. Even if such possibilities are Earth II and expect them to fend for realised we will still have to
Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 18
What we did at the WorldCon in August 2014 John Davies The World Science Fiction Convention was the first really big event for The Initiative for Interstellar Studies. We told you how it happened in the last issue of Principium, number 9, in May 2015. But, as you can imagine, it took some organising. Here are a selection of the "thrills and spills" on the way to the Con, as told by one of the project managers, John Davies.
How we got started When I joined i4is in late 2012 I 1965, and most of us were old SF illustrious and influential. Greg asked Kelvin (that's Kelvin F. Long, fans. The SF community have Matloff, emeritus professor of our co-founder and chief exec) what always taken an interest in space physics at New York City College of I could usefully do. My spacecraft and the cross-town traffic between Technology, was there. He's chair of design experience was 40 years out the two would fill a book! the i4is Advisory Committee and is of date but my enthusiasm was We made a start with some the guy who wrote The Starflight undiminished! At that stage we were planning over an excellent meal at Handbook back in the 1980s. And still an unincorporated Institute Gerry Webb and Mali Pereira's Kelvin and I met Shana Worthen, under foundation. We cooked up the place. Gerry is both a long-term one of the principal organisers of idea of being at the 2014 World space entrepreneur and a keen SF the Con. So thanks to Gerry and Science Fiction Convention. After all fan. Both i4is and BIS would be Mali for inviting us to a very it was happening in London, our there and Gerry was keen for us to pleasant and very useful gathering. home base, for the first time since be alongside. The company was
The Monolith The Worldcon organisers offered engineer, about how we might build A hundred hours work or so of an 8m square space, which a 4m high monolith and he told me later, Paul and Terry, now close meant we had to show something "I will build it!". The proportions had working friends, rolled it outside, spectacular. Professor Rachel to be 12 by 22 by 32 (1*4*9), as the assembled it, and Terry attempted Armstrong is Director of original. to tip it over! It was over 100kg in Sustainability & Development at By then, early 2014, I was total but half of that was the base i4is. She took an active interest in overloaded with Loncon3 board so my calculations showed it the early Con planning. preparation and Gill Norman agreed would not topple unless we tilted it Rachel and I were to share the load. The monolith beyond 40 degrees. But Terry does discussing how the stand should needed a build and test location. these things by "rack ot'th eye" and look in early 2014 and we thought Gill and I hunted high and low but we all trusted his judgement - showing video would be a good idea. all were expensive or hard to reach. maybe more than my maths! We Rachel invited her sister, Esther, a Around the same time I happened to rehearsed the delivery, assembly stage designer, and Frank Da Silva be having a pint with an old friend and projection in a north London of DMT Lab™ to meet us for a coffee and colleague, Paul Campbell, and community hall. and we dreamed up the idea of a he spoke the fatal words "We don't We hired a van which was (just) 2001-style monolith with a sinister use our basement much, you can big enough and delivered to Excel black sheen like the original and a use that". He claims to regret this the day before. Paul and Terry had screen for video on the back. but he's joined the i4is team as our some "fun" as we assembled the I talked to Terry Regan, i4is model Website Manager so we suspect monolith at the Excel centre. maker and all-round practical crocodile tears!
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Paul, as they say, “Lived to tell the tale” (left). They made it strong – Terry is no lightweight (top right). Spot which legs are Terry and which are Paul! (bottom right).
Here's the Clarke/Kubrick monolith towards the end of the film. Ours is a bit bigger, 4m, but not as big as the one on the moon!
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Films, Video, Design, T-shirts and Posters We worked with Frank Da We worked with Frank Da Silva and Louis Savy (of SCIFI Silva of DMTlab on the "look and London) on a film competition feel" of the stand and he came but we didn't get any suitable up with our design for "The entries so we concentrated on Interstellar Space" and that film clips, both real and fictional, other essential item, tshirts for showing weightless scenes on the Con! our vertical screen. You can see NASA and 2001 scenes in our report in Principium 9. Attracting the big names
We already had people with member Keith Cooper of Astronomy world reputations - Kelvin and Now magazine contacted Alastair Rachel - for our conference slot but Reynolds, my favourite interstellar we wanted more. We contacted our writer, and he agreed to speak. old friend Professor Chris Welch at Kelvin contacted Greg Benford who the International Space University turned out to be coming over in Strasbourg and he not only anyway and he added his name to agreed to speak but also offered to our programme. And when Stephen sponsor our stand. The sponsorship Baxter, another major writer, agreed from the ISU lead to Chris being on to join the panel "our cup runneth our stand to show the ISU to the over!". More about all of them in world SF community. But we Principium 9. needed writers and our board
How it all turned out Frank's brilliant banner Very well, as it happened, but take a look at Principium 9, May 2015, for that story
The Monolith – end result of our teams hard work
Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 21
Rob Swinney's picture of Vidyasagar Ananthan, John, Paul and Terry in front of the screen side of the monolith - looking tired in rough proportion to age!
We are up and running! Our Project Managers, John & Gill, delighted and relieved.
Principium | Issue 10 | August 2015 Page 22
TECHNICAL ADVANCES TOWARD INTERSTELLAR SPACE EXPLORATION New work currently underway with near term applications in technical fields relating to systems and methods relating to deep space exploration. Ideal papers would be actionable by student and stakeholder involvement, employment and participation in the fields of: Power and Propulsion for deep space exploration (e.g. fusion, fission, ion, plasma, solar systems used i.e. for power plants, batteries, primary and secondary propulsion, etc.). Materials advances with Aerospace Applications (e.g., graphene uses in space industry, structural materials and components, heat pipes, radiators, etc.). Communications and Navigation systems (e.g. inflatable antennas, communications relays, astronavigation, algorithms, interplanetary internet). Spacecraft Design and Mission Planning (e.g. Kuiper and Oort cloud object probes, CubeSat’s, waystations, exoplanet imagers, asteroid and deep space dwarf planet explorers.
OUR WORLD IN THE INTERSTELLAR ERA: CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE Future studies relating to trends in civilization and culture as we approach the “Interstellar Era”, where interstellar exploration is feasible and interplanetary travel is accessible and commonplace. Ideal papers examine the human perspective of “a future worth believing and worth hoping for” (Nick Nielsen), as the world undergoes rapid, sometimes dangerous changes: Interstellar Space Exploration and Earth Society (e.g. utopian or dystopian? how society might motivate the broad settlement of space, the desire or need for space migration). Future Earth History (e.g. examining social trends which lead to a future where humanity is able to inhabit ours and other star systems, realizing the Earth’s future by acting in the present). The Arts of Space (e.g. space inspired art and design, connecting space and arts, space art in science fiction and science fact, video demonstrations and animations welcome). Living and Working in Space (e.g. living and thriving on a worldship, how we open up space to the job market, industrialization of space, generating sustainable space jobs).
About Starship Congress: Interstellar Hackathon Starship Congress is a biennial, two-day fest, organized by Icarus Interstellar—a non-profit dedicated to starship research—that brings together deep-space science superstars, interstellar mavens, thought- leaders, technologists, and enthusiasts alike, to brainstorm cutting-edge concepts. This year’s event is being hosted by Drexel University (home to the first collegiate chapter of Icarus Interstellar) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 4 and 5. Starship Congress 2015 @ Drexel University aims interface students, companies developing innovative technologies, artists and thinkers contemplating the future of our civilization as we approach the Interstellar Era.
Registration for Starship Congress: http://www.icarusinterstellar.org/starship-congress-2015-interstellar-hackathon-drexel- university-philadelphia-sept-4-5-2015/
Support the Hackathon on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1468630926/starship-congress-2015-interstellar-hackathon
Principium | Issue 10 | May 2015 Page 23
Get your copy via Lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/shop/kelvin-long/beyond-the-boundary/hardcover/product- 21884350.html
Principium | Issue 10 | May 2015 Page 24
What’s in Principium 11 In the next issue of Principium we will be strongly featuring Project Dragonfly, reporting in detail from the workshop in July and explaining the future of this major new i4is programme. And we'll also report more from the UK national science fiction Eastercon. Showing that even Heathrow can be a fun place! We also hope to have our promised meditation on Rosetta and Philae. And we'll have more thinking about the significance of the New Horizons successful mission to Pluto, celebrated on the back cover of this issue. Our guest introduction will be by Robert Kennedy III, chief sponsor, co-founder and co-organiser of the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshops.
More about our front and back covers
Sam Harrison and Daniel Parker provided the image from their balloon, Shackleton 2, at 89,000 ft with the i4iS logo and the curvature of the Earth clearly visible on the horizon
Charon and Pluto in their austere magnificence show what humanity can reach with the technology of more than 10 years ago. The New Horizons team inspire us all to reach for the stars. The image is a composite of two images - http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/charon-s- surprising-youthful-and-varied-terrain http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/pluto-is- dominated-by-the-feature-informally-named-the-heart/ - resized to show their approximate relative size, based on a single lower definition image of both, also from NASA
Principium | Issue 10 | May 2015 Page 25
Mission Statement Vision Statement Values Statement The mission of the Initiative for We aspire towards an optimistic future To demonstrate inspiring leadership and Interstellar Studies is to foster and for humans on Earth and in space. Our ethical governance, to initiate visionary promote education, knowledge and bold vision is to be an organisation that is and bold programmes co-operating with technical capabilities which lead to central to catalysing the conditions in partners inclusively, to be objective in our designs, technologies or enterprise that society over the next century to enable assessments yet keeping an open mind will enable the construction and launch of robotic and human exploration of the to alternative solutions, acting with interstellar spacecraft. frontier beyond our Solar System and to honesty, integrity and scientific rigour. other stars, as part of a long-term enduring strategy and towards a sustainable space-based economy.
Front cover: "i4iS logo at 89,000 ft", credit: Sam Harrison We'd love to hear from you, our and Daniel Parker readers, about your thoughts on Back cover: Charon and Pluto from New Horizons, credit|: Principium, the i4is or interstellar NASA-JHUAPL-SwRI flight in general. Come along to Facebook, Editor: John I Davies Twitter(@I4Interstellar) or LinkedIn Deputy Editor : Kelvin F Long to join in the conversation! www.i4is.org Principium | Issue 10 | May 2015 The Initiative For Interstellar Studies is Page 26 a pending institute, incorporated in the UK May 2014 as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee (number:09062458)