Mars, known as the Red Planet, has always stimulated our imagination by offering the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life and establishing a human presence. However, the challenges to reaching it are numerous. NASA has been working on the development and improvement of technologies to send astronauts and payloads to Mars efficiently and quickly.
The first hurdle is creating a propulsion system capable of transporting large payloads quickly and efficiently to the distant planet. US-based Howe Industries has been working on developing a technology called a “pulsed plasma rocket”; This propulsion system is capable of generating up to 100,000 Newtons of thrust with an ISP of 5,000 seconds, meeting the fundamental requirements for deep space missions.
This makes it a promising option for future expeditions, current spacecraft need high speed to travel long distances in space, this requires propulsion systems with high thrust and high specific impulse, a combination that is currently not available.
The PPR concept of Howe Industries seeks to satisfy this need, this technology derived from the concept of pulsed fission fusion, uses nuclear energy to generate thrust for the propulsion of spacecraft, the PPR uses a nuclear energy system based on fission, obtaining energy from the controlled division of atomic nuclei.
Compared to the fusion concept, pulsed fission PPR is smaller, simpler and cheaper; NASA highlights that the exceptional performance of the PPR combining high ISP and high thrust has the potential to revolutionize space exploration by significantly reducing travel time to Mars and other places in space, such as the asteroid belt, opening possibilities for mining and exploration. of resources.
The phase two study of PPR technology under NASA's NIAC program aims to evaluate and improve its potential to make manned travel to the Red Planet viable. Currently only robotic probes explore Mars but the continued development of technologies such as PPR can bring humanity closer to the dream of sending humans to the red planet.
Thank you for visiting my blog. If you like posts about #science, #planet, #politics, #rights #crypto, #traveling and discovering secrets and beauties of the #universe, feel free to Follow me as these are the topics I write about the most. Have a wonderful day and stay on this great platform :) :)
! The truth will set us free and science is the one that is closest to the truth!
