Blowin up the sun baby!

Today at 7dp we're taking a look at Danny Boyle's Sunshine. Joining me today is Robert Capa, physicist on the Icarus II. Hello, Robert. For the people just tuning in, why don't you tell us what's going on and what you're doing.

Our sun is dying. Mankind faces extinction. Seven years ago the Icarus project sent a mission to restart the sun but that mission was lost before it reached the star. Sixteen months ago, I, Robert Capa, and a crew of seven left earth frozen in a solar winter. Our payload a stellar bomb with a mass equivalent to Manhattan Island. Our purpose to create a star within a star.

On behalf of everyone here on Earth, allow me to say, thank you.. I'm glad that someone is doing something about it. I mean, you know what they say about everyone bitching about the weather but not doing anything.

Our sun is dying. Mankind faces extinction. Seven years ago the Icarus project sent a mission to restart the sun but that mission was lost before it reached the star. Sixteen months ago, I, Robert Capa, and a crew of seven left earth frozen in a solar winter. Our payload a stellar bomb with a mass equivalent to Manhattan Island. Our purpose to create a star within a star.

Sounds neat! Will it work though?

It's the problem right there. Between the boosters and the gravity of the sun the velocity of the payload will get so great that space and time will become smeared together and everything will distort. Everything will be unquantifiable.

So, you don't know. Damn you, theoretical physics! First you ruined Event Horizon and now the sun! Alright Capa, so if all goes well, and it hits its target, you're going to have 4 minutes to get away, that's not a lot of time. You could die just delivering the payload, I mean, a bomb of that size. You don't know what will happen, aren't you scared about that?

When a Stellar Bomb is triggered, very little will happen at first -and then a spark, will pop into existance, and it will hang for an instant, hovering in space and then, it will split into two, and those will split again, and again, and again... detonation beyond all imaging - the big bang on a small scale. - a new star born out of a dying one... I think it will be beautiful... No, i'm not scared

Oh. Well, that's good. I mean, it's sort of a suicide mission, isn't it? I mean, what are the odds you'll make it home?

It's not a decision, it's a guess. It's like flipping a coin and asking me to decide whether it will be heads or tails.

So, do you think you'll make it home or not?

Heads.

I see. Well, our producers are telling us that we're out of time. I'd like to thank my guest and give Sunshine 8 crazy captains talking to god for 7 years out of 10.