Ion engine could one day power 39-day trips to Mars

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17476-ion-engine-could-one-day-power-39day-trips-to-mars.html

by habs • 17 years ago

35 27 17 years ago

miracle• 17 years ago

gives 100 times more thrust, but needs 1000 times more power...

IgorCarron2• 17 years ago

Yep,you need to go for nuclear on this one. Not that we have never done just that ( the US has flown one reactor in space while the Russians have flown up to thirty) rather, I don't see this option being exercised anytime soon as part of any space exploration programs.

Igor.

stuff4ben2• 17 years ago

I don't see why this is such a big deal outside of the wacky environmentalists. Nuclear power is a viable and powerful way to power spacecraft, especially if we want to do more than robotic space exploration.

jerf2• 17 years ago

I don't see this frequently talked about, but this is one of the big reasons to hope that one of the alternative (non-ITER) fusion proposals succeed, because most or all of them are much smaller than a tokamak, and easy to launch into space, at which point they could power an ion drive for a long time. This is true even after ITER succeeds brilliantly and solves all our energy problems.

Ha ha, I told a funny!

A working fusion device of almost any kind would open up the solar system, without the dangers of lofting fission reactors. (Also, they get better energy density, and while fission would probably cut the mustard, in space you'll take every bit of energy density you can.)

jsonscripter• 17 years ago

Both Voyagers have nuclear reactors (of sorts) in them.

Hexstream• 17 years ago

(Consensus on HN is not to sign messages)

stcredzero• 17 years ago

Launch infrastructure into orbit so that you can beam power to it. This way, the heavy powerplant can stay on the ground. Have an onboard RTG for the control systems and the science package. Then you don't even have to send power to a probe full-time. Even an intermittent boost with the available ISP will be an improvement.

The orbital infrastructure could consist of mirrors, which would be relatively lightweight.

Retric• 17 years ago

Spacecraft solar panels: ~170 W/kg and 200kw = 1lb of thrust. ~55 million miles to Mars.

Let's say 3000 lb of weight for 1 lb of constant acceleration - time to break at other end of trip. Add in a pay load we are talking ~1/5000g which still get's you 2km/s after 12 days. This would take ~300 days to get to mars. But, you could still accelerate on the trip. You would need to adjust for the loss of sunlight as you get further from the sun, but I think something like 120 day's might be possible with solar power.

Granted all of this is orbiting the sun, and you can get a little boost from a close approach to the moon etc.

Keyframe2• 17 years ago

How is this news - I have those videos in my favorites on youtube for a year at least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_FGqb0cr1k (with awesome scifi sounds in the background)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVsgSjm_vXg (also a great sound)

I remember reading, when these engines were announced about 15+ years ago, that theoretically they could get us to at least half of the light speed with these engines - and they will. Trouble is that acceleration with them takes time.

In the mean time we have stuff like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9m4d137N1Q (since you made me go to my favorites on youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn5odETw3Yc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZGjHeI_hj8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjoY_cSmQ70

scott_s• 17 years ago

It's news because most people don't know about it. It probably bubbled it's way back up because of this, though: Scientists at Ad Astra began tests of the engine's second stage - which heats the plasma - last week.

biohacker42• 17 years ago

It's news because most people don't know about it.

And because of that before long it will be news again, and again, and again. Here's hoping the Ad Astra tests go well.

sown• 17 years ago

True, it has been around for a while...but it's nice to be reminded about them. :)

icey2• 17 years ago

FTA:

"Several space missions have already used ion engines, including NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which is en route to the asteroids Vesta and CeresMovie Camera, and Japan's spacecraft Hayabusa, which rendezvoused with the asteroid Itokawa in 2005.

But a new engine, called VASIMR (Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket), will have much more "oomph" than previous ones. That's because it uses a radio frequency generator, similar to transmitters used to broadcast radio shows, to heat the charged particles, or plasma."

Ion engine could one day power 39-day trips to Mars

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