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Researcher develops fusion rocket that humans could use to travel to Mars

2021-02-11T16:40:50.248Z


After the moon, man would like to conquer Mars too. A researcher is currently working on a rocket that would make a Mars landing possible.


After the moon, man would like to conquer Mars too.

A researcher is currently working on a rocket that would make a Mars landing possible.

Princeton / USA - It has been more than 50 years since Neil Armstrong took “one small step for a person, but a giant leap for humanity”.

NASA is planning another moon landing * for 2024.

But typically human: He always wants to go further.

The next target should therefore be a planet in our solar system - Mars.

It was not until October 2020 that our earth was closer than it has been for 17 years *.

Due to the comparatively short distance, a Chinese probe was able to reach the red planet after just 202 days *.

At least decades will probably pass before the time is ripe for a human on Mars.

The idea of ​​a researcher at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory * (PPPL) in the USA could, however, make the dream of a manned Mars landing unexpectedly within reach.

Target Mars landing: After the moon, the red planet is also to be conquered

The physicist Fatima Ebrahimi is currently working on a brilliant project that she recently presented in the Journal of Plasma Physics.

This is a concept for a plasma-propelled fusion rocket.

With such a drive, a much higher speed should be achieved than with current drive models.

This is made possible by plasma particles that are shot out into space, giving the rocket a huge boost.

This principle is already known as magnetic reconnection - comparable to the phenomenon of solar flares.

This is created by repelling and reconnecting magnetic fields and releases enormous amounts of energy.

The simulations presented by the researcher show that a speed of up to 20 kilometers per second could be achieved.

"Long journeys in space take months or years because chemical rockets have very low ignition momentum, so it would take a spaceship a while to reach cruising speed," SkyNews told SkyNews.

And further: "But if we develop a drive based on the principle of magnetic reconnection, we could carry out long-term missions in a much shorter period of time" - whereby future rockets could reach a speed ten times higher than conventional models. 

So far it's all just theory: "The next step is a prototype"

This is exactly what the researchers need to achieve if the Mars landing project is to become a reality at some point.

After all, even last October, when it was so unusually close to Earth, the red planet was still 62.1 million kilometers away.

In theory, however, Fatima Ebrahimi's idea could have brought space travel a little closer to its goal.

“The next step is to build a prototype,” says the physicist.

* fr.de and merkur.de

are part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-02-11

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