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Comment by ilurk | Hacker News Reader

It feels extremely frustrating to know -- not just wonder but to know exactly where -- that there are planets similar to our own, which have a very high probability of harboring life, yet to be condemned to never be able to take a really close look at it.

No FTL travel, no working cryonics, no mind-upload tech. Just harsh reality.

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Frustrating or motivating? As far as I am concerned, if I live long enough to get even a blurry image of an exoplanet, I will die happy. And the best part: I have a good chance of this happening: http://exep.jpl.nasa.gov/presentations/AIAA_Space_2014Blackw...

Not saying that getting an image of an exoplanet at all wouldn't be exciting, but I'd die happier if we could land a rover there.

Maybe the happiness is in the hope. Is there anything you would find there that would actually fulfill you? Maybe it's like when people become rich and they realize that didn't fill them up.

Not having those technologies but being captivated by the possibilities enabled by their existence is essentially what motivates many scientists. Instead of looking at it like a harsh reality, look at it like a grand challenge for yourself to be amongst those who contribute to their development (or provide the building blocks for later generations who do).

Donate to the relevant parties. Unless you're already very old or very sick, it's hard to say you're condemned. A lot can happen in the next 40 years.

Indeed. FTL travel not so much, but working cryonics (with revival) isn't _that_ far-fetched in a reasonable timeframe.

Cryonics with revival is far, far closer in technological achievement (and actually has working science associated with it) than is any realistic FTL travel. Worm holes, Einstein...and those who have further derived his special and general theories of relativity, namely Alcubierre, Natario and White, all towards a "warp" type drive, are at best "speculative". One step above educated fantasy at this point. No working science. Just incomplete math and ideas. FTL.. warp and worm holes are thousands, if not tens of thousands of years beyond us. A suspended animation scenario... about 100 to 150 years....if that far.

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