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What are the hypothetical requirements of a craft/probe which could be sent to chase after this object? Could we build something very small but extremely fast p

by Mizza 8y ago

What are the hypothetical requirements of a craft/probe which could be sent to chase after this object? Could we build something very small but extremely fast perform a fly-by? It kills me to think we've been visited by a mystery I'll never get the answer to in my lifetime.

ldenneau 8y ago
This was answered non-facetiously after discovery: https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.04935 https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.04935
sp332 8y ago
Yeah, it's slow enough that we could catch up to it. One of the biggest mysteries about it is why it was moving so slowly. Voyager left the solar system at 17,000 m/s. ‘Oumuamua accelerated to a top speed over 87,000 m/s as it was moving toward the sun, but it's slowing down now, and will eventually slow to 26,000 m/s. It will pass the orbit or Uranus early next year.
- jandrese 8y ago
  Note that the Voyager probes are only moving that fast because they got orbital assists. It would take a very big rocket already in orbit to attempt an intercept.
  - sp332 8y ago
    Oh it would be crazy expensive. But we have the tech. (Wait, do we have tech for in-orbit refueling? Anyway we're developing that for Mars missions already so we'll have it soon.)
    - lucb1e 8y ago
      We resupply the international space station, so even if we couldn't carry great loads of fuel up at a time, orbital refueling is clearly within the realm of the possible. More interesting would be if we could beam up energy to refuel, but for that we'd probably need yet-to-be-invented drives which use loads of energy per amount of matter to accelerate it further. Kind of like a particle collider but for propulsion.
    - rbanffy 8y ago
      My bet would be an RTG powering a dozen electric thrusters packing a lot of propellant and a relatively small probe. Still, it'd mean reaching Uranus' orbit in about a year. That's a lot to ask for.
  - rbanffy 8y ago
    If we stop and think of it, it'd be a lot of energy to be able to reach Uranus' orbit by next year. Big rocket or very small probe.

by Mizza 8y ago

ldenneau 8y ago

This was answered non-facetiously after discovery: https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.04935 https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.04935

sp332 8y ago

Yeah, it's slow enough that we could catch up to it. One of the biggest mysteries about it is why it was moving so slowly. Voyager left the solar system at 17,000 m/s. ‘Oumuamua accelerated to a top speed over 87,000 m/s as it was moving toward the sun, but it's slowing down now, and will eventually slow to 26,000 m/s. It will pass the orbit or Uranus early next year.

jandrese 8y ago
Note that the Voyager probes are only moving that fast because they got orbital assists. It would take a very big rocket already in orbit to attempt an intercept.
- sp332 8y ago
  Oh it would be crazy expensive. But we have the tech. (Wait, do we have tech for in-orbit refueling? Anyway we're developing that for Mars missions already so we'll have it soon.)
  - lucb1e 8y ago
    We resupply the international space station, so even if we couldn't carry great loads of fuel up at a time, orbital refueling is clearly within the realm of the possible. More interesting would be if we could beam up energy to refuel, but for that we'd probably need yet-to-be-invented drives which use loads of energy per amount of matter to accelerate it further. Kind of like a particle collider but for propulsion.
  - rbanffy 8y ago
    My bet would be an RTG powering a dozen electric thrusters packing a lot of propellant and a relatively small probe. Still, it'd mean reaching Uranus' orbit in about a year. That's a lot to ask for.
- rbanffy 8y ago
  If we stop and think of it, it'd be a lot of energy to be able to reach Uranus' orbit by next year. Big rocket or very small probe.