The concept could help realize the goal of using nuclear propulsion to revolutionize deep space travel, reducing Earth-Mars travel time to just three months.
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The tech that could take us to the stars
Ion thrusters, solar sails and nuclear thermal propulsion engines sound like sci-fi, but they’re very real technologies currently being tested. If these experiments get off the ground, they could extend humanity’s reach from the Moon and Mars, to the outer edges of the solar system – and beyond.
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Designed to be used by NASA's Gateway lunar orbital outpost as well as manned and unmanned deep-space missions.
The idea of using centrifugal force to create a sensation of gravity in space originated as early as 1903, but a group of space enthusiasts believes its time has come. Check out Gateway's vision for the Von Braun Rotating Space Station.
If this idea from the cosmically inquisitive Stephen Hawking comes to fruition we could reach our neighboring Alpha Centauri stellar system within 20 years of launch.
Getting to Mars is a difficult, long and costly journey. However, Finnish scientists may have a solution based on combining an electric solar sail invented in 2006 with fuel stations orbiting around Earth and the Red Planet.
The Heliopause Electrostatic Rapid Transit System (HERTS) or E-sail concept is a novel form of propellant-less propulsion that relies on a series of wires to catch the solar winds.
It is what's known as a Hall thruster, which uses electric and magnetic fields to ionize gases like xenon and expels the ions to produce thrust.
