NASA only uses 15 digits of pi for calculating interplanetary travel. At 40 digits, you could calculate the circumference of a circle the size of the visible universe to an accuracy equal to the diameter of a hydrogen atom.
space travel
During his trip to the Moon, Apollo…
During his trip to the Moon, Apollo 16 astronaut Ken Mattingly lost his wedding ring. According to his fellow astronaut, it ‘just floated off somewhere’ and he spent all his spare time on the mission trying to find it.
The interstellar travels…
The interstellar travels of Voyager I and II were only possible due to a specific planetary alignment that only occurs every 175 years. The position of the 4 outer planets enabled a slingshot move which greatly increased the crafts speed.
Due to time dilation its possible to travel anywhere…
Due to time dilation its possible to travel anywhere in the galaxy within a human lifetime. A ship accelerating constantly at 1g (earth gravity) could travel to the center of the milky way and back in 40 years.
Sending an all female crew to Mars would…
Sending an all female crew to Mars would be significantly cheaper than sending men. Women are smaller and lighter, taking up less space and burning less fuel and they burn less calories so less food is needed.
The most isolated person ever was Alfred …
The most isolated person ever was Alfred Worden during Apollo 15, he was 2,235 miles away from the nearest human being.
Astronauts must have good airflow around them when…
Astronauts must have good airflow around them when they sleep, otherwise they, “…could wake up oxygen-deprived and gasping for air, because a bubble of their own exhaled carbon dioxide had formed around their heads.”
Scientists are working on a nuclear fusion rocket…
Scientists are working on a nuclear fusion rocket which could reach Mars in 30 days.
Evidence shows that the space shuttle Ch …
Evidence shows that the space shuttle Challenger’s crew survived the explosion and could have been conscious until the crew cabin hit the ocean. 4 of 5 recovered crew air packs had been activated and pilot switches that could only have been moved manually by a person were moved.
The space shuttle Discovery nearly joine …
The space shuttle Discovery nearly joined Challenger and Columbia as disasters…TWICE. One year prior to the Challenger disaster, post-launch analysis of Discovery’s SRBs showed similar O-ring seal failures, however the backup rings held (barely). During the return to flight mission after Columbia, an eerily similar foam piece struck Discovery, but the angle was slightly different and minimal damage occurred to the orbiter.