As the peoples of Earth begin to seriously prepare for our first journey to Mars, there has been a flurry of research into novel propulsion methods to help get us there... quicker. One very promising avenue leads to the VASIMR nuclear electric thruster, which opens up the possibility of a journey to the Red Planet in only 40 days. The technology is still in development, and has some key challenges, most notably building a space-capable nuclear reactor to power the engine array, but it seems to be one of the most immediately realizable technologies for fast interplanetary travel.
Solar power can be efficiently used for near-Earth VASIMR missions, such as drag compensation for space stations, lunar-cargo transport, and in-space refueling. Recent advances in solar array technology show a significant increase in solar power utilization (up to an order of magnitude).
A nuclear reactor has a very large amount of energy per unit mass, a reactor core has the highest energy density of any useful energy source on Earth. This high energy density and scalability make nuclear reactors an ideal power source in space. A nuclear-electric powered spacecraft could dramatically shorten human transit times between planets and propel robotic cargo missions with a very large payload.
Trip times and payload mass are major limitations of conventional and nuclear thermal rockets because of their inherently low specific impulse (less than 1,000 seconds). A VASIMR propelled, nuclear-electric powered spacecraft promises to make fast human missions a reality.
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Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-