Journey to Mars could be within our grasp
The new fusion rocket works on the principle of solar flare. (Image: Paul Fleet / Shutterstock)
No time right now?
The physicist Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi has developed the concept of a fusion rocket that dwarfs everything previously. It ejects plasma particles that travel between 20 and 500 kilometers per second.
Mars – a distance that by today’s standards is too far for manned space flight – could by no means be the end of reachable space if the concept of the researcher at the US Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) asserts itself as a prototype can. The simulation promises maximum speeds of at least 20 kilometers per second.
In doing so, Dr. Ebrahimi on a modern plasma drive. This type of drive is not new. The principle is based on the fact that plasma particles are shot into the vacuum of space, which gives the rocket enormous propulsion.
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Rocket propulsion based on the principle of solar flares
Conventional plasma drives already work with electrical fields to drive the particles. The new design goes one step further and leads the principle of magnetic reconnection on.
In the process – to put it simply – magnetic fields increase through reconnection and repulsion at the pole ends, which leads to a massive release of energy. One also speaks of the “magnetic slingshot” and it is assumed that the solar flares are the most prominent example of the effect of magnetic reconnection.
Astray quickly, energy without end
The spiral magnetic field arcs required for the reconnection effect should be used in fusion reactors of the type Tokamak be generated. The speed of the fusion drive should exceed conventional boosters by at least a factor of 10.
For long-haul flights into space, the concept would be particularly suitable for two reasons. For one thing, a fusion rocket would reach cruising speed much faster than has been the case so far. On the other hand, the vehicle would have an unlimited amount of energy.
Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi im Journal of Plasma Physics presented. The construction of a prototype is now to follow.
