Kiwi A rocket
Posted on 03/07/2010 12:40:28 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Future Mars outposts or colonies may seem more distant than ever with NASA's exploration plans in flux, but the rocket technology that could someday propel a human mission to the red planet in as little as 40 days may already exist.
A company founded by former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz has been developing a new rocket engine that draws upon electric power and magnetic fields to channel superheated plasma out the back. That stream of plasma generates steady, efficient thrust that uses low amounts of propellant and builds up speed over time.
"People have known for a long time, even back in the '50s, that electric propulsion would be needed for serious exploration of Mars," said Tim Glover, director of development at the Ad Astra Rocket Company.
The rocket technology could drastically cut down the amount of time a spacecraft needs to send astronauts on Mars missions. Instead of half a year, a spacecraft could make the trip in just over a month using the engine and a large enough power source, according to an Ad Astra mission study.
NASA's recent course change has freed up some funding for new propulsion technologies. And the U.S. space agency has not lost sight of the red planet, NASA administrator Charles Bolden told Congress as he presented a new budget last month.
"While we cannot provide a date certain for the first human visit, with Mars as a key long-term destination we can identify missing capabilities needed for such a mission and use this to help define many of the goals for our emerging technology development," Bolden said.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
What about the rest of the ship?
:^)
The other problem is getting back. You would need an external fuel source to leave both Earth and Martian gravity, so dumping the rockets would not be an option.
That is up to NASA or a person with deep pockets.
Carter /spit signed off on a treaty that killed the Orion project, which by now would have us moving at a significant fraction of c (speed of light). So I’m sure obama will sign off on something similar that will kill this. Why? Because they are both first and foremost anti-America, and this kind of advance is too much for America to own in their putrid minds...
The 1963 Test Ban Treaty and the 1967 Outer Space Treaty killed the Orion project.
In the 1954 Operation Castle nuclear test series at Bikini Atoll, a crucial experiment by Lew Allen proved that nuclear explosives could be used for propulsion
That’s actually manageable. For getting out of Earth’s gravity well, you use multiple missions and built the ship in orbit. For getting out of Mars’ gravity well, you have to bring along quite a bit of fuel. However, Mars’ gravity is significantly less than Earth’s because it has about one tenth the mass. Also, some of the needed fuel can be made on Mars, esp if you can find water under the soil.
Two graphite-covered steel spheres were suspended near the test article for the Castle Bravo shot. After the explosion, they were found intact some distance away, proving that engineered structures could survive a nuclear fireball
What couldn't we all do with a thousand times more power.
It’s not gonna get us out of the Earth gravity well - where the real obstacle to space travel lies.
My bad, I thought Carter signed off on the Outer Space Treaty. Didn’t realize it was a done deal before he was elected.
Propellant can be made from materials on Mars.
Its all right.
Kiwi A rocket
Sad and most likely correct with the current so-called leadership.
Sounds real convenient on the timing. Could be the global warming equivalent for getting funding for space.
Mars ping.
This has been under development since the 70’s, it’s hardly a new technology.
I’m glad to hear Franklin Chang Diaz has went into the commercial field though, they should be able to get these working as positioning thrusters for satellites.
This propulsion is like anything else, they COULD do a lot with it - if they had a MW class nuclear reactor to power it.
Since that’s a political barrier instead of a technical one, I don’t suspect we’ll progress past where we went in the 60’s with that idea, but a lower powered solar version may actually get used in space.
Those treaties haven’t prevented us from using nuclear power for other spacecraft. There had to be something more.
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