Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Generational Spaceships

What if you lived your whole life on a spaceship and never saw the final destination? On this StarTalk explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice investigate generational spaceships.
We discuss the ethical questions posed by the idea of generational spaceships. Would you ever plan to come back to Earth? Neil and Chuck ponder the idea of artificial incubation and Chuck raves about the new show Raised by Wolves.
Lastly, Chuck tells us why he wants astronauts to come back with superpowers after a long journey away from Earth. All that, plus, you’ll hear why Earth itself is a generational ship.
Support us on Patreon: / startalkradio
"Black Swan” & "White Swan" limited edition serigraph prints by Coast Salish artist Jane Kwatleematt Marston. For more information about this artist and her work, visit Inuit Gallery of Vancouver inuit.com/​.
FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk:
KZbin: kzbin.info...
Twitter: / startalkradio
Facebook: / startalk
Instagram: / startalkradio
About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!
#StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

[@hendrikblauw2604]

This combination of wisdom and humour has got me hooked to these shows.

[@munchiemac2895]

Humour?

[@poozer1986]

@@munchiemac2895 yes, humour. Maybe you're not intellectual enough to hear it

[@BrettLong]

*both hosts in histerical laughter*... 'what? There's humour?'... We found the bot guys

[@scottstorch808]

Well said

[@Ssdemon23]

Agree

[@FMFvideos]

There should be an episode where Chuck explain things while Neil make jokes.

[@TheCinamanic]

Nile make it happen (a prayer to the ancient Nile Goddess) Neil make it happen (a much more direct request)

[@adamamer2795]

@@TheCinamanic idk what the river gonna do about it

[@TheCinamanic]

@@adamamer2795 lol thanks but not a native speaker here, like most of the world, so please take that white(or whatever u identify as) man's burden off of ur shoulders. But but also, your channel has 2 years old videos with 11 views though. So bye(eeeee). Okurrr

[@Magnusfication]

@@TheCinamanic it seems that your understanding of the english language made you see an insult where there was none.

[@peadrianlastname]

and they should do it on april fools day, its perfect

[@hareecionelson5875]

Chuck out-geniused Neil for the second time. First time was when he said the speed of light is the loading speed of the simulated universe.

[@witchdoctor6502]

when he said this? I either missed the entire episode or wasn't listing carefully...

[@robgraveson]

Nobody wants galactic pop-ins.

[@hareecionelson5875]

@@witchdoctor6502 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pp7Go3ptj79-i8U Time stamp: 1:37

[@ridetheapex]

When he said that it blew my mind. That was the tipping point to me thinking we are in a sim. Heh

[@hareecionelson5875]

@@ridetheapex It would be interesting to think about how special relativity would affect how the simulation loads: a crew on a relativistic ship would get to a distant galaxy within their lifetime. If the speed of light is the limit, how do relativistic speeds affect the loading of new stuff.

[@elizabetholiviaclark]

"Earth: The Nascar of space travel." I'd buy that bumper sticker.

[@steveb0503]

Go fast, turn left...

[@gregslingland3576]

Same.

[@willkleespies8682]

I will make that for you and gladly send it. Email me at [e-mail] and I will do it. I have a graphics company and I make decals, cups, signs , coffee mugs, key chains etc. I'm going to make that shirt Chuck has on lol too funny. I have to figure what the bottom says and it shall be done

[@osirismnunez]

Chuck hit the nail on the head with the spaceship Earth concept.

[@flipvdfluitketel867]

Agree

[@munchiemac2895]

No he didn't

[@joebloggs7956]

Earth is a space ship for sure. I believe in plains of energy that transcend this plain

[@Shimus36]

*Sephiroth agrees, planet ship!*

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

Oh yeah, the Earth is the best spaceship we have.

[@leroycasterline1122]

I wish I could remember the title of the book or credit the author, but when I was a kid growing up in rural Ohio in the late 50's or early 60's, I read a book about just such a starship from the perspective of a young man. I don't remember many of the details, but the gist of the story, revealed slowly and expertly over the course of the book, is that they had been on the journey for so many generations that they didn't understand they were living on a spaceship and heading toward an unknown world. As the story goes on and the ship approaches its destination, the unchanging world these people had known for generations begins to change (the ship hadn't forgotten it's mission, after all). As I recall our young hero finds a forgotten book or artifact that reveals to the passengers how their lives are about to change forever. Thanks for the fond memories!

[@ashtonvaughncharles6900]

Chuck blows my mind more than Neil these days lol. Listening to his philosophies got me like "😂😂😂😂😂😂🤔"

[@chrisbrowning360]

I very much agree

[@ejmtv3]

I mean, if you surround yourself with Scientists, you'll start to sound like them.

[@DrDeathpwnsu]

I literally went to the comment section to say this exact thing.

[@bbymaati]

Lol same

[@joshuaschaffner5254]

he does come out of nowhere with them,,like a yoda of it,,"on a space ship going we are already"

[@Justacoustic79]

That Chuck's quick and deep tought at the beggining of the video about procreation in the earth having the same ethical implications as in space, just blew my mind.

[@philipberthiaume2314]

Fun fact: warping is actually a very slow and tedious process from the age of sailing ships. To warp a ship out of port, you would put an anchor on a rowboat, row it forward of the ship, drop it into the ocean, sailors on the ship would then pull the anchor's rope and move the ship forward to where the anchor was dropped and repeat the process over. Very slow, very tedious and necessary when there was no wind or the ship was in a very tight spot.

[@brentwilbur]

By the time the first ship we send gets to where it's going, the second and third ships will have already arrived because of improved propulsion technologies. So the first ship should have most of the people, with a majority of the population in stasis. The second and third ships could be largely robotic, designed either to pass the first and autonomously build a waiting colony, or to dock with the first and take a handful of people ahead to build the colony. The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades. I gotta wear shades.

[@Games_and_Music]

Indeed, a towel and shades is all you need! But interesting point though, i commented on someone else's idea of newer ships arriving before the old one and i also suggested a rendezvous, loading the old people onto the new ship, because yeah come on, that's torture for the old crew. But then i started wondering about how well the old crew would take it.. but yeah. Also.. just thought of it now, how would you control the size of the population, do we eventually sacrifice people if we cross a threshold? That'll bring a whole other can of worms with it, makes me think back of the Mayans, who knows what future generations will think about the mission and its limits. But i like your idea of sending the majority off first, and build on the ship later on with newer additions. Kinda makes sense, if technology improves, they could find a way to connect the ships and increase the speed of the old ship through new additions. Kinda like a Sega Mega Drive getting a Mega 32x port and Sega CD addition.. hah And yeah, i also like the idea of a "welcoming" party, they could still implement something like that in the old ship, like sending out a probe a couple years before arrival, that contains a (backup)habitat or stuff like that.

[@elevatedintuition]

Aren't we essentially on a space voyage that lasts longer than our own life?

[@elevatedintuition]

And Chuck says that 3 minutes in.

[@renatoigmed]

say it for yourself. I did not come to this world to contribute by procreating more humans. and I don't even want to be a part of it. I want to be free as a bird.

[@gyozakeynsianism]

@Renato Medeiros Being free as a bird would technically making as many babies as might happen if you had as much fun as possible.

[@MustObeyTheRules]

@@renatoigmed same here but birds aren’t free. They’re just copy machines too

[@oliviawutam]

Elevated , , , , Bingo, of course, we are, we get too distracted and forget it. have a nice day ❤️

[@markusmcgee]

Raised by Wolves is EXCELLENT.....can't wait for season 2

[@quontox9247]

Imagine sending a generational ship out and it travels for 200 years and when it reaches the destination, theres already a large colony of humans there because we figured out faster than light travel 50 years after we sent the first ships.

[@rico76]

Perhaps they could pick them up on the way? I'd hope so

[@Games_and_Music]

@@rico76 Haha yeah that should've been a priority, rendezvous with the old (and probably greatly bewildered) ship and crew and get those people on the new ship before moving on. It'll probably be like cavemen and modern man meeting up again, a lot can happen in 200 years.

[@Yukimation]

This is what I was hoping Neil would mentioned

[@Greybews]

How about they get there and the planet is slightly dangerous, maybe toxic or filled with dangerous predators. And have to come back, 200yr journey 🤨

[@milosstojanovic4623]

We are at least 50-100y away from usable fusion reactor, also amount of temprature needed to make fusion is enormous, so it would be useless on ships. Unless we find some different element somewhere in our solar system. So warp drive, worm whole, FTL, or any other sci-fi technology is impossible. I made myself sad and disappointed :/ :(

[@JAMESHARTDRUMS]

I would love to sit down with these two and have the entire discussion about every aspect of this concept... The snowball effect would be wild. So many details to be thought of

[@aceleone215]

..I GENUINELY LOOOOVE THESE TWO GUYS TOGETHER..!! #EDUTAINMENT👌👌💯

[@jjbud3124]

This show reminds me of the some of the SciFi I was reading 60 years ago. I particularly remember one about a generational spaceship where, after many generations, the occupants eventually lost track of their mission.

[@bitthalyadav]

It's 3:30am in India, and Chuck's viewpoint will now won't let me sleep 🤯.

[@paramashivakaranth6277]

Yes

[@ericvosselmans5489]

starting at 0:45 "...never engage in an experiment, where you don't get the results until after you are dead..." They forget to tell that to the James Webb Telescope Team!

[@prakashdere1261]

Wow Chuck you blew my mind today.. Also Raised by Wolves is amazing

[@roginoapacible1]

How I wish you could talk about my favorite anime show, Cowboy Bebop. The setting is interesting and the science behind their technology they were using. People living on Mars and hyperdrives wherein each side is held together by a machine.

[@davidsisson194]

There's actually an episode of The Orville in which they encounter a generational ship originating on an alien planet and something went wrong that failed to inform the passengers of the original mission and they thought the interior of the ship was the entire universe.

[@dennis8371]

These explainer-zone vids are my new favourite. Keep 'em coming!

[@The-Good-Wolf]

I think this was your best yet 'Explains' episode! I would love a longer episode (StarTalk) on Generational Spaceships!

[@dickcastle]

"Farms of women" I'm sure tht line will never be misconstrued

[@kennethlgabriel]

Raised by Wolves is a delectable series. Amazing.

[@witchdoctor6502]

I think this deserves a 1 hour episode with maybe some biologist so we can go more in depth with how people unaffected by viruses and germs can colonozie unknown planet and slowly build up immunity to it. And possibly a psychologist to go trough the parts of journey where the generation is brought up in a space ship on a trip they didn't ask for.

[@babasemka]

Neil "X-Men or Marvel" Tyson

[@kpoplover2828]

These videos are amazing. Thank you.

[@thomaslane1547]

Then there was the sci-fi book I read where folks left on a 500-year journey in a generational ship, but warp drive was invented 150 years after that, so other families had been living at their destination a couple hundred years when their descendants arrived...

[@Bromopar]

As an Navy Engineer who has traversed the Atlantic ocean in a warship and had something break I'm more concerned about how we get replacement parts when the next stop to anywhere is 300+ years out. Somehow, we have to have resources in place to rejuvenate broken parts to machinery because there's no autozone or whatever between here and there to buy a replacement from.

[@hectgar7]

Chuck very nice comment you made about earth !! really kept me thinking. You are a natural philosopher

[@scooterfpv8864]

LOL! 2:30 Gotta hand it to Chuck and the banter there after. Smart dude to be sure.😁👍

[@NuubiKakku]

Never stop making these.

[@yt.silentknight]

this is my new favorite channel. I get to satiate my scientific curiosity with a slap of comedy! together, you two are such a vibe! keep it up!

[@LacunaIntroRiot]

I have to say "a little creepy" or "a little weird" is a huge understatement. You are describing a dystopian vision that has enormous ethical implications. Even though I love you guys I sometimes wonder about the stance of physical sciences towards ethics. Philosophy has shown that the idea of pursuing something that is achieveable doesnt necessarily make it reasonable. Reason is lost when the goal of science is aimed purely towards its own forthcoming.

[@AshleySmith-sb3zb]

I just want to let you fellows know how much I appreciate your talks it really bust open the mind of the rather serious subject with soothing healing humor and also the antidote of Truth, Thank You!

[@adrienneweller485]

I can just hear the adolescents on that spaceship --" I never asked to be born."

[@nowherefool5869]

this. all it takes is one angsty kid to kickstart them to a death spiral. they're just one prank away from annihilation.

[@alphonsemaina8293]

That's logical reasoning. They never asked for that.

[@lghammer778]

Really sweet episode, I love the topic ❤️

[@rlems4772]

i really liked this one!! Greetings from Amsterdam and keep up with this because its amazing!!!

[@dryashnaidoo]

Hi from South Africa

[@University_of_Kingstone]

Hi from Venda

[@dryashnaidoo]

@@University_of_Kingstone awesome. I'm in Jozi

[@FastPaull]

A Generational ship would have to be absolutely massive. You would need a ton of space just for manufacturing new technology for said ship. Among many other things.

[@debnbuddy]

I love Science and I could watch you two explain stuff all day long. Thank you.

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

Aren't they awesome? This is the way science should be taught in schools. Make it fun not tedious.

[@diegofernandez4789]

This explainer should be larger. There's so much to talk about this topic!

[@ASIRA89]

for people interested in comics with similar topics -> check out Knights of Sidonia by the author NIHEI Tsutomu. It's a story about peope on a generational spaceship, trying to fight off hostile life-forms until they reach a certain inhabitable planet. Those people also somehow changed their genes to be able to photosynthezise, so they only need to eat about once every few days. They build the spaceship INTO a huge asteroid, so in case some part of the ship gets destroyed, they can use the materials from the asterioid for repairs.

[@SAJe_53]

Very astute observation by Chuck.

[@10stripmusic]

I agree with Chuck. Raised By Wolves is awesome so far!

[@ritik3514]

This is the video I was waiting for so long

[@shinnyii]

My favourite explainer video to date

[@beachbumghostwriter9042]

guys keep up the great work making science fun to learn and talk about. Thanks 🙏🏽

[@jhonsqueaks4573]

Yay Finally Another Great Video 5 In A Row!!!.

[@paulvanslyke3264]

"Orphans of the Sky" Robert A. Heinlein, 1963 but originally published under another title 1941 in Astounding Fiction magazine.

[@ghoulunlimited4308]

I knew about startalk in facebook and ngl i never thought i would be so into these like i am right now i relly like the explanation and how we know more thx to these i relly relly starting to love these alot

[@samogufonianrockstar7510]

I keep coming to back to certain past episodes ..for the laughs❤🙌

[@ElliotNesterman]

"Never engage in an experiment where you don't get the results till after you're dead." The pitch drop experiment comes close.

[@Emadze]

This new energy coming from both of you is awesome! Keep them coming!. Can you explain a decentralized civilization and the impact it has for science. Because we are living in a centralized planet, only a fraction of humans are contributing in science and a fraction of the resources we have goes into space exploration.

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

I really enjoyed this. You guys are awesome. Stay cool.

[@dragonlock12345]

Wow Chuck, you nailed it this episode.

[@muskyoxes]

"We're the nascar of space travel" is one of the world's best sentences

[@pebcak420]

Chuck Killed it. We are in fact a giant generational spaceship "earthship" exploring the universe to through it come to know ourselves and our purpose. An endeavor which we most likely will not realize.

[@osvaldoalvarez1926]

Neil has to go play some Elite Dangerous, some generation ships there and most with not so happy endings, then again the game is awsome.

[@Ralesk]

The thing that came to my mind about the generational ship was how to keep them (or us) up to date with advances during their trip? Surely the ship (however huge we design it) can't be a substitute for all the research and factories and whatnot that we can do spread out on the entire Earth; plus, the communication between the ship and the planet will get worse and slower... Oh and factories: what about parts that might break and have to be replaced out there without mining, refining, machining...

[@waywardgoddess7219]

The whole born for a certain role and growing babies in incubation pods is giving me serious Man of Steel vibes Also absolutely love Chucks idea of future generations coming back to us to take over but we think they're aliens.

[@TreyNitrotoluene]

Chuck is right, we ARE already on a generational ship.

[@eastskuzz9619]

I wonder if Neil or Chuck have seen the show “The 100” 🤔 really great show and more or less the concept that they are talking bout in this video...

[@marcoottina654]

2:50 or so ... Chuck, i love you! Because you went to a deduction so simple ("simple != "negative," "simple == "not complex / hard to comprehend") and brilliand that is also so much "on the same wavelength" of my own mindset that blow-up my mind and myself :D :D Thank you! (of course, thank you all for [I guess] obvious qualities of yours :3 )

[@larkendelvie]

This was fun - thank you for reminding me to reread a bunch of books! Long term completely closed systems are actually unstable in human's experience so far, we are much better at adapting than we are at being stagnant.

[@Games_and_Music]

Cabin Fever has been proven to be all too real now with this pandemic indeed.

[@ashrimpcalledhank]

As a boy in the 70s I loved reading about generational ships

[@cfgauss71]

I wish this were a longer segment. So much more to discuss about this topic. Also, can't you put the travelers in some sort of prolonged hibernation so that not as many generations would be needed?

[@pushing2throttles]

We're the Nascar of space travel Chuck was en fuego today!

[@stevenwolfe2279]

LOL. “We are the nascar of space travel” That’s some pretty funny stuff! We just keep turning left all year! I was thinking about the virus thing before you mentioned it. I think that viruses would probably develop onboard the ship anyways as people’s own germs mutate. Is this what would happen? It’s a great question for a virologist in a future episode.

[@theonyxcodex]

Loved this.

[@jamesbullo]

Soylent Green would come in handy on a generational ship...

[@medelpasand]

Just "the brushing the virus part" . YOU ARE AMAZING NIEL !

[@karinefonte516]

In terms of sci-fi I believe you need to watch more anime and Asian cinema, guys... *generational spaceships* - Knights of Sidonia series (2009-2015) *artificial wombs and android mothers/lovers* - Osamu Tezuka's movie "Space Firebird 2772" (1980) Earth as a space vessel, with engines and all - "The Wandering Earth" (Chinese sci-fi) Not saying Riddley Scott's work is bad, but if you search you will find out the Asian in general, and the Japanese specifically, most likely imagined that before.

[@michaelhood5221]

Honestly you could pick any topic and I would listen to Neil Degrass Tyson talk about it all day 😅💯 But this topic is very interesting. Thanks for sharing

[@ronaldgarrison8478]

Bigger and bigger ships seem so much more feasible than trying to go faster and faster, approaching the speed of light in smaller and smaller steps.

[@RetNemmoc555]

Or the opposite when they come back to Earth: "Where have you been? Your great great great great great grandfather was worried sick, go to your room!"

[@Games_and_Music]

Hahah "Your ship is all messy! Grounded for a week!"

[@kubek]

By the time a generational ship reaches it's destination, we'd have discovered a new way to travel. Also knowing humanity: some generation may want to rebel or change primary goal of such ship. Or they'd go mental thinking the ship is all there is, thinking Earth is like some mythical place which may or may not be real.

[@simonsj15]

Chuck was killing it today.

[@kyasut]

Pretty deep stuff. Cool.

[@BobJP77]

Nice bromance between those two guys.

[@rahsaankcole]

Raised By Wolves is awesome! Must watch

[@samudrajs5409]

Yes we need Chuck Philosophy channel

[@keleedurand8268]

There's a show called Ascension which was cancelled after the first season but was based on this idea of generational spaceships. Needs a reboot

[@RandomStuff-he7lu]

In Homeward Bound, the last in the Colonisation series, which is a sequel series to the Worldwar series (aliens invade during WW2 and the war ends with the US, USSR, Germany signing a peace treaty with the aliens who now own 2/3 of the planet), a US ship (not generational) travels to the alien's home planet, a journey that takes 40 years. A few weeks after they arrive another US ship arrives. It left a few weeks earlier since the US invented a faster than light drive in the meantime.

[@shaileshkris]

I want to see how birds fly in zeroG

[@Games_and_Music]

Haha, poor birds, they would be zipping all over the place, unless they learn not to push off with full spring/strength. Flapping their wings will not do much for them, because there's no air displacement in a vacuum, they'd just tumble around a lot, but considering their highly developed balance organs, they might just be zipping in straight lines with panic in their eyes, haha.

[@willkleespies8682]

They wouldn't move at all, there is no molecules for the wings to push off of and create propulsion. They would be flapping in place. Astronauts have to physically push off thr hand holds and bars to move, they can't flap about even with oxygen present to move, no molecules, no movement. I'm not a physicist but I believe that to be correct

[@kristoradion]

This is the funniest startalk video haha.

[@medunco]

Please read Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson, it is a great novel on this topic :)

[@mayyoon]

Neil is becoming comic and Chuck is becoming scientific. I think there are effecting each other's characters.

[@lwsfr976]

100 percent down with traveling toward a destination I’ll never reach. Worth it for the journey alone.

[@endtimes5568]

Great movie

[@kilroy1964]

Chuck was on fire in this one!

[@MisterSirJeff]

You gotta watch Raised by Wolves. It kinda covers some of this topic but in a different way.

[@np1245]

Wow chuck is getter smart af 🔥

[@Coldskin1]

1:52🤣

[@np1245]

@@Coldskin1 lol maybe only sometimes 😂😂

[@robinmiller5256]

Chucks scenario would make a great video game,

[@SubparSkill]

Honestly i would love to spend my whole life or the rest of my life in space, I know that's easy to say knowing it is never going to happen but i honestly couldn't think of anything i would want more. Space is fascinating and beautiful. Plus i don't like most of the people on earth so it's a win win

[@dirpdanger8839]

You should also explain how technology could advance beyond the initial travelers' means and cause a second ship to arrive at the destination before the first.

[@jamekac.stuckey3228]

Man I feel at home here! Thank guys!!!

[@nikonissinen6772]

Chuck totally owned this episode!

[@AndyDavis007]

Ok so yes. this episode is spacey. There's gotta be a dispensary somewhere getting some inspiration and thinking about a blend and thinking about calling it, Neil and Chuck. Some really premo stuff