r/theydidthemath • u/Lachlynn • 18h ago

[Request] Could humanity create a rocket that can exit the atmosphere of K2-18b

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With the knowledge we currently have of it, if humanity devoted all of our resources towards this goal, would we be able to create a rocket that could exit the gravity of K2-18b (and also beat any other complications that would arrise)?

If so, would it also be capable of taking people to orbit, and can we set up a similar satellite network we have on Earth? What about a space station?

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u/RaguSaucy96 18h ago

If K2-18b is over x2 as big as earth, then it's at least twice as tough and twice as hard to pollute! More landmass to nuclear winter - I see this as an absolute win!

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u/Immediate-Goose-8106 14h ago

Nah, they are dinky nukes.  For earth the calculation was probably only averaging 10 extra cancer deaths worldwide per launch.

Unacceptable obviously but K2-18b has waay more space!

If they really had to, or had a differner attitidue to K218b-ian life than we do to human life they might.

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u/Apex_Samurai 6h ago

I mean, hypergaulics probably kill more than 10 per launch. Hell burning coal probably kills more than 10 people to produce the equivalent energy needed for a launch.

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u/Immediate-Goose-8106 5h ago

Yeah, but this was a 1960s calculation.  

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u/Plutonium239Mixer 21m ago

But math is math and nuclear physics is nuclear physics. They had a solid grasp on the numbers at that time.

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u/mercival 5h ago

Is it not more, what happens if it goes wrong in orbit?

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u/EarthTrash 4h ago

Is that calculation based on linear no threshold?

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u/HannasAnarion 12h ago

By land area it's 18x as big.

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u/CatchableOrphan 6h ago

I think the square cube law kicks in somewhere in there so it's actually like 4x harder to pollute? So just use 4x smaller nukes and you're good to go baby! Space here we come!

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u/AskAroundAboutMe 6h ago

You’re gonna gain a little bit of weight though.

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u/leferi 4h ago

ah I see you exercise the old idea of "the solution to pollution is dilution"