DARPA's Look into Starships Can Inform Our Search for Health

The first question most people had when they heard about the DARPA 100YSS Study was, “Why is DARPA interested in how to build a space ship a hundred years from now?” DARPA is known for far out projects, like the Internet itself, but even this seemed far out for them. In the first talk of the symposium, David Neyland, the DARPA Tactical Technology Office Director who came up with the idea, answered the question and provided reasons why we at Medgadget should care about the project. He said that all of the innovations necessary for a successful multi-generational starship would be things the defense department would be interested in as well. Smaller, more efficient power generation, radiation shielding, life support, food generation, life extension, habitats, and even the possible corporate structures of the agency responsible for designing and building the craft, were some of the topics discussed.