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Our distance between the earth more than 4 light-years (beyond the nearest star) is a predictable journey to the power unit and, as required by several centuries. Considering all must - and do not have a configuration Center shops and the way forward, or landing! There are at least four common feature requires' animated 'through space. The first large-scale technology to a group of people (including all the necessary skills) over a wide range of space. It is still available - we can not move more than a month and three men back to the period of about a week since.           Who is There?         It is often asked why 'they' have not been 'here' if 'they' are 'there'. This question must be answered to accept the possible existence of life generally in the Universe as credible. It can be said that 'we' have not been 'there' and 'we' are most certainly 'here'. For us on Earth the distances would be in excess of four light years (beyond the nearest star) and with foreseeable power units the journey would take several hundred years. Everything must be taken — there are no breakdown centres or shops either on the way or at the destination!   There are at least four general capabilities that are required for 'animate' travel through space. One is technology able to move a large group of individuals (to cover all the necessary skills) over the vast distances of space. This is not yet available — we can do no more than move three men to the Moon and back, over a period of about a week. The second is a social capability and commitment to achieve the allocation of the huge resources needed to support life over enormous time intervals — perhaps hundreds of years. The third is a life span for individuals sufficient to see a cosmic journey through, although there is the possibility of breeding en route so that several generations should be involved in the journey. However, might extra-terrestrials live longer? Oak trees do. The allocation of resources is a central problem and would use a very high proportion of the world's GDP during the preparatory period of the mission. The task of feeding a space crew for long periods of time presents severe scientific problems. A wider issue, the fourth, is physiological. There is, as yet, no quantitative knowledge of the effect of weightlessness on the mechanism of the body over lifetime periods. It appears that there can be a loss of strength of bone tissue and possibly other effects. It would be very difficult in practice to arrange an effective system of artificial gravity in the space ship. Extra-terrestrials would, of course, face the same problems that could well prevent them coming 'here' as we are prevented from going 'there'.           George HA Cole, Michael M Woolfson, Planetary Science - The Science of Planets Around Stars, Topic AM: Life on a Hospitable Planet             Indexes/04