NASA’s New Vasimr Plasma Engine Could Reach Mars In Less Than 6 Weeks

NASA recently delivered $10 million in funding to Ad Astra Rocket Company of Texas for further development of its Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR), an electromagnetic thruster proficient of propelling a spaceship to Mars in just 39 days. NASA’s funding was part of the “12 Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnership.”

Ad Astra’s rocket will travel ten times quicker than today’s chemical rockets while using one-tenth the amount of fuel.

The VASIMR system would cut the trip to Mars by months according to Franklin Chang Diaz, a former MIT student, NASA astronaut, and now CEO of Ad Astra.

According to Diaz, “this is like no other rocket that you may have seen in the past. It is a plasma rocket. The VASIMR Rocket is not used for launching things; it is used for things already in orbit. This is called “in-space propulsion.”

VASIMR heats plasma, an electrically charged gas, to exceptionally high temperatures using radio waves. The system then offers thrust by funneling the hot plasma out of the back of the engine. According to Diaz, VASIMR will save thousands of gallons of rocket fuel and tens of millions of dollars a year.

This engine is truly amazing and can help us in exploring space a lot. Ultimately this will help us reaching the outer skirts of our solar systems. This is one of a kind.

In the following video, Diaz explains in great detail the origins of space travel and why the magneto plasma rocket technology will transform space travel and exploration.

Related Posts

The Hubble Space Telescope has recorded the mass and position of a black hole for the first time

The HuƄƄle Space Telescope seeмs to Ƅe iмproʋing with age. How else can you explain the fact that it reʋeals knowledge that has Ƅeen kept hidden eʋen…

Planets Scream As They’re Ripped Apart, Astronomers Say

  Advertisements Unintentionally heartbreaking research suggests that as some planets break up, they may let out cosmic radio waves that sound like screams. In a recent interview…

A Super Rare Kilonova Explosion Was Captured By Hubble Telescope!

A kilonova is a huge explosion in space that is unlike anything you have ever heard of. That’s because it’s not just one star breaking up or…

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Beams Back The Sharpest Images Of Jupiter—Ever

On July 5, 2022, NASA’s Juno probe did its 43rd close flyby of Jupiter. It studied the colors and shapes of the clouds on the giant planet….

Astronomers find hidden galaxies at the edge of space and time

A team of researchers unintentionally discovered two hidden galaxies at the frontier of space and time. A group of scientists discovered and has now identified two hidden…

BREAKING : Astronomers just discovered an extreme supermassive black hole lurking at the edge of the universe

Astronomers from the University of Texas and the University of Arizona have discovered a fast-growing black hole in one of the most extreme galaxies known at the…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *