The laws of physics may not apply in the Star Wars universe. But just because it's highly unlikely we'll ever make the jump to lightspeed as seen in the films, that doesn't mean Star Wars-esque propulsion is out of the question entirely. The Parker Solar Probe, launched into the sun in 2018, is the fastest human-made craft ever made. Its top speed was 430,000 mph which is .065% the speed of light. That means the trip to Proxima Centauri, the nearest planet outside our solar system, would take 6,600 years.
Could technologies like nuclear fusion or solar sails give us a speed bump? Maybe. But, don't plan your vacation on Dagobah for this millennium. However, other approaches seen in Star Wars may at least help us get around our own solar system a bit faster.
From Science News:
For now, spacefarers aren't looking to travel to another star system. But even travel within the solar system, say, to Mars, could use a boost. To safely bring people to and from the Red Planet, some researchers are looking to ion engines. These thrusters create force by shooting charged atoms from the back of a spacecraft. Star Wars' TIE Fighters, like the one flown by Darth Vader, navigate through space battles with them.
But real ion engines work best with straight paths, says Jarred Young, an engineer at the University of Maryland. "It's essentially point-and-click propulsion."
Ion engines aren't as powerful as the chemical propellants in rockets, which create thrust by combusting fuel and oxygen-releasing substances called oxidizers. But chemical rockets burn for only a short time. Ion engines can last months or even years, possibly helping fuel trips to Mars, if engineers can design strong enough thrusters.
Previously:
• What it was really like to see Star Wars in 1977
