The future of space exploration: How astronomy, space travel and the search for life may change by 2049 (video)

Celebrating 25 years of covering countless advances in space exploration and development astronomySpace.com is Live Virtual Panel We discuss some of the most impactful findings and what may be coming next.

The discussion was moderated by Space.com Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik, and included three panelists: Dr. Sarah Seager, astrophysicist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Dr. John Mulchay, director of the Carnegie Observatories, which oversees the Giant Magellan Telescope; and astrophysicist Dr. James McCain. Tom MarshburnSierra Space’s chief medical officer and former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) He is a three-time astronaut.

The panel, held on July 17 to celebrate Space.com’s 25th anniversary, highlighted achievements in the following areas: Exoplanets the study, The Quest for Lifeobservations of the early universe and human spaceflight, and new technologies that could open the door to further discoveries.

Rendering of a space station in orbit with multiple spacecraft docked. (Image credit: Future/All About Space Magazine, logo_ Hannah Rose Brayshaw-Williams)

“We now know that there are thousands of planets around Earth. Performer“There must be trillions of them in our galaxy alone,” Seager says. “So, [of] Its transfer from science fiction to scientific fact is the great achievement of the past quarter century.”

Over the past 25 years, we have made great strides in early research. universeThis discovery, which revealed the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, is in Mulchey’s opinion one of the greatest achievements in astronomy.

This is a field that is “currently undergoing rapid change on a daily basis.” James Webb Space Telescope“It’s very exciting,” Mulchaly said. “Twenty-five years ago, I was just graduating from graduate school, and all we knew was stuff that was maybe 10 billion years old, and now we’ve gone back almost to the time of the Big Bang.”

A spaceship in deep space with a large gold hexagon on top

An illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope peering into a distant galaxy. (Image credit: dima_zel/iStock/Getty Images)

Mulchaly oversees Carnegie’s main campus in Pasadena and the observatory’s large telescope facilities in Las Campanas, Chile. Giant Magellan Telescope The world’s largest optical telescope is currently under construction and is expected to be operational by the early 2030s, and will survey the distant universe looking for signs of extraterrestrial life.

Human space flight has also changed significantly over the past 25 years, from the days of the Space Shuttle to the evolution of spacecraft and continued habitation. International Space Station and SpaceXIt was the beginning of commercial space flight.

“Find a way for humanity to survive in space [for] “Six months to a year… I think that’s one of the most amazing things. The barriers we’ve broken will allow us to spend years in space,” said Marshburn, who has served on three spaceflights, including STS-127, Expedition 34/35 and Expedition 66/67. SpaceX Crew 3“We’re committed to helping NASA continue its exploration missions,” he said during a panel discussion at the SpaceX Space Center in Seattle, where he now works for the private space company Sierra Space. He later explained that the private sector is “using our deep innovation, agility and speed to ensure that we can continue to do everything we need to do in low Earth orbit so that NASA can continue its exploration missions.”

Sierra Space Dream seeker A spaceplane launch is scheduled for later this year, expanding cargo capacity to the space station, and the company is also working on developing inflatable habitats that could make space more accessible.

A black and white winged spaceship stands upright inside a silo-like structure

Sierra Space’s first Dream Chaser spaceplane, “Tenacity,” is undergoing environmental testing. (Image courtesy of Sierra Space)

“Several companies are working together to provide such destinations in low Earth orbit,” Marshburn said, adding that the goal is “to get into lunar orbit, create a habitat on the lunar surface, and include the means to get from the lander to that habitat.” [such as] We can dig a tunnel and start developing our space base.”

and, Private spaceflight Seger argues that the opportunity is for smaller, more focused missions that can be accomplished in less time for companies that can help mass-produce and launch the technology.

“This could be a game changer,” Seager said. “Instead of waiting 20, 30, 40 years for a mission, we could do lots of small missions frequently that build on each other, or move in new directions when we get stuck.”

But this requires a “paradigm shift,” according to Mulchay. The panelists agreed that more focused projects are beneficial, and that they expect to see more of them as “complementary” to NASA’s larger efforts going forward.

The panelists also discussed the future of artificial intelligence, how to most effectively search for signs of life, the ethical use of space, and what they each hope to accomplish in the next 25 years.

Visit Space.com for the latest updates 25th Anniversary Coverage.

Global News

The future of space exploration: How astronomy, space travel and the search for life may change by 2049 (video)

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