NASA supports research on fusion engines that will allow you to go to Mars in 30 days

Planning to send people to Mars by NASA and private companies is ongoing, but at the present time it takes more than 4 years to shuttle back and forth to Mars, the cost of fuel is only 12 billion dollars (about 1 trillion 200 billion It is predicted to become yen). "Mars travels more cheaply and in a short time" so that the research team of Washington University will be able to reach Mars in 30 daysFusion engineIt is development of.

Rocket powered by nuclear fusion could send humans to Mars | UW Today
http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/04/04/rocket-powered-by-nuclear-fusion-could-send-humans-to-mars/


NASA supported rockets using fusion enginesFDRWhat is called. According to researcher John Slough, "It is almost impossible for human beings to explore far away from the earth with the existing rocket fuel as it is", and development is now proceeding to create a more powerful energy source It is done.

The mechanism of the engine is simple, it uses nuclear fusion using deuterium and tritium, a huge lithium ring. An explosion is caused by nuclear fusion with a small amount of fuel, and a thrust of 30 km / sec occurs. Rocket will eventually accelerate to 320,000 km / h by nuclear fusion repeated every 10 seconds. This is the mission spacecraft launched by NASA in 2011CuriosityAbout 10 times faster than the speed. Also, since all the electric power required for the fusion process can be covered with solar energy, the fuel cost and expenses, which had hitherto been a huge amount, can be reduced to about 2 billion dollars (about 200 billion yen) There is a possibility.


Some people remind us of nuclear bombs from the word "nuclear fusion", but Slough says that nuclear fusion engines and nuclear bombs are completely different. The nuclear fusion energy for propelling the rocket is about one billionth of the hydrogen bomb, and it is said that nuclear fusion has been kept away from space ships and passengers using powerful magnets and it is a mechanism to ensure safety Thing.

Although the research is now finished with the part-by-part experiment, it has not actually reached the completion of the engine, but each part is combined in the near future to create a full engineI am planning to undertake it..