At the end of the 21st century, humans have achieved the capability to perform routine interstellar travel and are venturing past the boundaries of the solar system. In 2095, a message arrives at earth from the growing colony at Tau Ceti (a star 11 lightyears from earth). The message asks for help in combating a virus that is making people seriously ill (the message includes a complete description of the viral genome). Using advanced technology available on earth, scientists are quickly able to construct a drug that prevents the virus from reproducing. You have to decide how much of the drug can be sent to Tau Ceti.
The space probes available on short notice can boost the following payloads to the following speeds (relative to earth) 0.20 kg of drug to a speed of 0.95c 1.00 kg of drug to a speed of 0.90c 5.00 kg of drug to a speed of 0.80c 20.0 kg of drug to a speed of 0.60c The only problem is that a sample of the drug in a standard container at rest in the laboratory is observed to degrade due to internal chemical processes at a rate that will make it useless after 5 years. Is it possible to send the drug to Tau Ceti? If so, how much can you send? Explain how you arrived at your conclusion.