Seven Sci-Fi Scenarios For Interstellar Space Travel That Could Happen In This Century

Voyager 1 traveled billions of lonely miles before it finally broke free of the sun’s sphere of influence. Earlier this month scientists determined that the stubby probe, popularly known as “The Little Spaceship That Could,” was the first spaceship to cross into interstellar space.

Voyager 1’s unprecedented achievement raised the possibility anew that humans could soon travel to distant stars. A growing group of space enthusiasts, including eminent scientists like Freeman Dyson, a physicist who unified quantum and electrodynamic theory, and Martin Rees, an astrophysicist who holds the honorary title of United Kingdom’s Astronomer Royal; along with engineers like Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars society, and Peter Schwartz, an acclaimed futurist, believe significant progress toward interstellar travel can be made in this century.