All articles tagged with #plasma propulsion
Russian researchers say a magnetoplasma accelerator powered by an onboard nuclear reactor could propel hydrogen at about 100 km/s, enabling a 30‑day Mars voyage. Ground tests are underway in a 14-meter vacuum chamber, with a flight‑model target by 2030, but questions remain about real‑world readiness, regulatory hurdles, and the lack of peer‑reviewed data.
Former SpaceX engineer Halen Mattison and General Galactic plan to launch an 1,100‑pound satellite on Falcon 9 to test turning water into rocket fuel: electrolyze water to hydrogen and oxygen for chemical propulsion, and drive oxygen to plasma for electric propulsion. While the approach could aid in-situ resource use and offer rapid thrust bursts, experts warn about potential electronics corrosion from ionized oxygen and the added mass of the electrolysis system; the concept remains controversial, though research into extracting water and oxygen from lunar or Martian regolith continues.
US, Russian, and Chinese teams are racing to turn plasma propulsion—using magnetically confined, ionized propellants—into a practical deep-space drive. Concepts like NASA's VASIMR and Pulse Plasma Rocket, along with Rosatom's magnetoplasma accelerator, promise far higher exhaust velocities than chemical rockets and could cut Mars transit from months to weeks (with some projections around a month), but significant challenges remain in power generation, heat management, and material durability before a crewed mission is feasible.
Russia’s Troitsk Institute (Rosatom) is testing a 300 kW pulsed plasma engine that uses hydrogen and an onboard nuclear reactor to provide continuous thrust, potentially cutting Mars travel from months to about one to two months. Ground tests in a vacuum chamber suggest long operational life, with space deployment hoped for around 2030, though the tech remains unproven in space and faces regulatory and safety hurdles.
Russian researchers at Rosatom’s Troitsk Institute are testing a 300 kW plasma propulsion system that accelerates hydrogen with an onboard nuclear reactor, potentially cutting Mars travel time to about one to two months; current ground tests report exhaust speeds up to 100 km/s, roughly 6 N thrust, and a 2,400-hour service life, but the system has not yet flown or undergone peer review, and deployment depends on further testing, funding, and regulatory approvals toward a 2030 timeframe.
Russian scientists have developed a plasma-based propulsion system that could potentially reduce the Earth–Mars travel time from about 9 months to just 30-60 days by using high-velocity ionized particles for efficient, sustained space travel, marking a significant advancement in interplanetary propulsion technology.
Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a bidirectional plasma thruster with a magnetic cusp to safely and efficiently remove space debris by slowing it down until it re-enters Earth's atmosphere, demonstrating promising laboratory results that could improve space sustainability.