Did The Rosetta Comet Mission Just Validate Star Trek Technology? Deuterium Suspected In Higher Levels, Based On Data From 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenk; Comets Offer Fuel Resource Needed For Hyperdrive?
The Rosetta Comet Mission channels Star Trek in latest news; it turns out comets offer a wealth of resource Trekkies can throw in the face of Star Wars fans; apparently there's new science discovered to support Star Trekfiction. It was hypothesized comets were a major factor in the forming of the Earth's oceans; data sent from the Rosetta proved otherwise.
It's been several months since the Rosetta Comet Mission touched ground on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenk, and data sent back from the craft have been analyzed, published in depth. The latest update is in a Science journal article, though, asserting that asteroids have more to do with the forming of the Earth's oceans than comets did.
CNET reports on the possibility comets carry another valuable resource, especially for the future of space travel. Comets, or at least the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenk, carry more than the expected levels of deuterium, the raw material used to fuel the fictional U.S.S. Enterprise.
"I'm talking about deuterium here folks, also known as 'heavy hydrogen,'" according to CNET correspondent Erick Mack.
"[Deuterium is] a stable hydrogen isotope that's found in small amounts in our oceans. The thing is, the water that's hitching a ride on Rosetta's comet has about three times as much deuterium as water here on Earth. So, comet water is different enough from Earth water that it casts a little bit of doubt on to the popular hypothesis that cometary collisions with early Earth "seeded" our planet with the water we all take for granted."
The Rosetta Comet Mission is ongoing, and continues to send data back for analysis.
In the "Star Trek" universe, deuterium is paired with tritium in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D's fuel tanks, used to jumpstart the craft into hyperdrive and intergalactic travel.
"Star Trek" story arcs also revolved around the element; Klingon marauders operating deuterium mines, life forms partly made of the space stuff, and a scarcity that leads to conflict.
