NASA is carrying out an exciting project in collaboration with a technology development company to revolutionize space travel and shorten the arrival time to Mars. According to the space agency, this new propulsion system could take humans to the Red Planet in just two monthscompared to the nine it currently takes.
NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program selected six promising projects for funding and further development. These include a lunar railway system, fluid-based telescopes and a pulsed plasma rocket, among others. These advances could make a faster and more efficient journey to Mars possible.
The company Howe Industries, based in Arizona, was in charge of the development of this innovative propulsion system. Its pulsed plasma rocket used nuclear fission to generate plasma packets that powered the spacecraft. With this new system, the rocket generated up to 22,481 pounds of force (100,000 Newtons) with a specific impulse of 5,000 seconds, which represents notable efficiency in fuel consumption.
Nuclear fission for space propulsion has been a recurring idea, but now NASA has developed a new version of the pulsed plasma rocket that is smaller, simpler and more affordable. The space agency hopes that its high level of efficiency will allow the completion of manned missions to Mars in just two monthsinstead of the current nine months it takes to reach the Red Planet.
This would not only significantly shorten travel time, but also would reduce astronauts’ exposure to space radiation and microgravity, minimizing its effects on the human body. In addition to its speed, the pulsed plasma rocket could also carry heavier spacecraft, allowing protection systems against galactic cosmic rays to be carried on board.
Phase 2 of the NIAC program focused on analyzing the interaction of the spacecraft with plasma, designing the spacecraft and the necessary systems, evaluating the capabilities of the magnetic nozzles, and determining the trajectories and benefits of this new propulsion system.
It was learned what NASA’s plan is for the arrival of an apocalyptic asteroid
The NASA carefully evaluated its contingency plans in the event of a catastrophic cosmic event. The doctor Kelly Fastexpert in planetary defensepointed out the importance of detecting and monitoring asteroids dangerous before they posed a real threat to our planet. According to him, It is “essential to find these celestial bodies before they find us and be prepared to intervene if necessary”.
NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office He was engaged in the search for possible asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. Maintaining constant surveillance of space was crucial to foresee any risks and take proactive measures to protect our planet.
Dr. Fast explained that If an asteroid impact threat was identified years or decades in advance, there was the possibility of carrying out a diversion mission. However, he emphasized that the priority was to detect and monitor these asteroids effectively.
Should an impact threat be confirmed, NASA would issue an official notification, first addressed to the government of the affected country, before reporting globally and communicating it to the United Nations. According to current protocols, if the asteroid was years away, an attempt would be made to deflect it. However, if the timeframe was less than five years before the expected impact, the option of destroying the asteroid rather than attempting to deflect it would be considered..
In 2022, NASA carried out the mission Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), where an asteroid hit in deep space. This test was intended to test the effectiveness of the technology in diverting dangerous asteroids before they posed a threat to Earth. The results were promising and showed that it was possible to reduce the orbit of an asteroid in the event of an imminent impact.
During the mission, the DART spacecraft intentionally collided with the asteroid Dimorphos, a moon of a minor planet known as Didymos.. Although Dimorphos did not pose a threat at the time, this experiment demonstrated the ability to deflect the orbit of a space object. The asteroid was about 11 million kilometers from our planet at the time of impact, ensuring terrestrial safety during the experiment.
The results of the DART experiment were encouraging, as they managed to reduce the orbit of Dimorphos in a significant time. Although the initial goal was to reduce the orbit by 73 seconds, the impact of the DART spacecraft managed to shorten it by 32 minutes, showing the success of space technology in mitigating the risk of asteroid impact.
