‘If you look at the equation that Einstein gave us, it shows you can bend and warp space so you can travel at any speed you like in the universe,’ he said.

‘It’s theoretically possible, but can we ever build a warp drive?

‘We have hints that the kind of materials that we would need exist in the universe, but whether or not we could get them together and build a warp drive, we still don’t know.’

The astrophysicist claims that without Star Trek-style space travel, mankind will be unlikely to colonise the universe.