Six-Week Trip to Mars? VASIMR Plasma Engine Could Propel Spacecraft to the Red Planet in a Short Period of Time

The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) has the capacity to proficiently bring a spacecraft to Marsh in around 45 days.

VASIMR Plasma Engine

The Space Academy reports that the VASIMR engine will effectively shorten the trip to the red planet by a couple of months.

According to Interesting Engineering, the VASIMR engine of Ad Astra is a remarkably powerful propulsion system that may heat plasma from a range of one to five million degrees. To run the engine, gas should be injected into the rocket core of the VASIMR, which then splits into three different phases. Gases could be hydrogen, helium, or argon.

During the first stage, a radio frequency (RF) coupler is used to heat the gas and produce plasma. Such plasma then proceeds to the second phase, where it becomes even more energized by another RF coupler. For the third and last stage, this plasma energy is then changed into high exhaust velocity through electricity. A magnet-operated nozzle then expels the plasma from the engine.

This entire process offers thrusts that can go as fast as 123,000 miles per hour. Because of this, rockets propelled by the engine may reach the red planet in roughly 45 days.

Each year, the VASIMR engine could help conserve thousands of gallons of fuel and save tens of millions of dollars.

The engine will need a "space-worthy nuclear reactor" in order to power and propel a ship. Ad Astra will have to depend on other firms to hopefully provide the necessary innovations in the next few years.

VASIMR Space Demonstration

NASA also plans to test nuclear rockets in space by 2027. NASA's rocket will be using the nuclear thermal approach, wherein nuclear fission heat reaction gets utilized for the thrust. This is unlike Ad Astra's nuclear-electric approach.

Nevertheless, Ad Astra could be the first to conduct solar-powered VASIMR for near-earth missions. Franklin Chang-Díaz, a former astronaut from NASA, mentions to Interesting Engineering that they could launch 150-kilowatt engine modules that will run on solar power. He further notes that logistics is becoming a vital factor in ensuring that the cosmic economy evolves and thrives. This means that there is a need for heavy-duty transportation.

Chang-Díaz notes that seeing VASIMR's space demonstration depends on funding. To enable the engine to fly, they may need around $150 million. To deploy it in space, they may need yet another $50 million to $60 million.

While the technology is already present, what the specialists are attempting to pull off is to turn this lab-package chamber into a flight-worthy one.

Through an endurance test in 2021, the VASIMR was seen to operate indefinitely at high power. This was when Ad Astra did an 88-hour endurance test of the VASIMR VS-200SS rocket. This was done at 80 kilowatts. This advanced the technology's TRL (technological readiness level) from four to five to six, which is the borderline level. Their aim is to make the technology ready for flight.

If they succeed in such an endeavor, space travel to Mars will be significantly shortened. With current technologies, it takes around seven months to send a craft to the red planet. Hence, with the VASIMR engine, radiation exposure and anomalies could be significantly reduced.

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