Lucasfilm and Disney has released a new episode of on the science of space travel. In this week’s video, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer welcomes viewers via videostream from the International Space Station to give a tour of the largest structure humans have ever put into space, including the U.S. laboratory where engineers are studying the latest breakthroughs in space science.
Spaceships, star fighters, space stations: you can’t have Star Wars without them. But will we ever live in space? In this episode, host Anthony Carboni explores:
- Vasimir plasma engines, which could one day propel ships ten times as fast as modern chemical engines do today.
- Quantum computing, or solving optimization problems in space travel, such as how satellites are using route-finding to scout the shortest path between two locations.
- Treadmills in space, which are mounted on walls with harnesses to simulate gravity, allowing astronauts the resistance needed to continue to grow bones and muscles in space.