No longer solely in the realm of science fiction, the possibility of interstellar travel has appeared, tantalizingly, on the horizon. Although we may not see it in our lifetimes – at least not some real version of the fictional warp-speeding, hyperdriving, space-folding sort – we are having early conversations of how life could escape the tether of our solar system, using technology that is within reach.
For UC Santa Barbara professors Philip Lubin and Joel Rothman, it’s a great time to be alive. Born of a generation that saw breathtaking advances in space exploration, they carry the unbridled optimism and creative spark of the early Space Age, when humans first found they could leave the Earth.
“The Apollo moon voyages were among the most momentous events in my life and contemplating them still blows my mind,” said Rothman, a distinguished professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and a self-admitted “space geek.”
A mere 50 years have…