A navigation using 'laser heat propulsion' is devised to reach Mars in just 45 days.
In recent years, unmanned exploration rover has become more
Design of a rapid transit to Mars mission using laser-thermal propulsion --2201.00244.pdf
(PDF file) https://arxiv.org/pdf/2201.00244.pdf
Lasers Could Send Missions to Mars in Only 45 Days --Universe Today
https://www.universetoday.com/154487/lasers-could-send-missions-to-mars-in-only-45-days/
Scientists develop laser guided system that could send a spacecraft to Mars in 45 days | Daily Mail Online
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10520147/Scientists-develop-laser-guided-send-spacecraft-Mars-45-days.html
When sending a manned spacecraft to Mars, it takes about 6 to 9 months from the earth to Mars with existing technology, and about 100 days one way even with technologies such as nuclear thermal rocket propulsion (NTP) and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) . It is expected to take. However, the researchers claim that using a laser heat propulsion system that uses hydrogen fuel and a laser can reduce travel time to Mars by just 45 days.
In recent years, attention has been focused on propulsion systems that use lasers with excellent directivity and convergence as energy, and plans to receive laser light with sails and fly micro-explorers at 20% of the speed of light, and super-carrying worms. Research results that can accelerate small ships with laser light and realize interstellar flight are attracting attention. Researchers at McGill University have explored the possibility of applying lasers to interplanetary navigation rather than unmanned spacecraft and interplanetary flight.
Several methods have been devised to propel the spacecraft using laser light. As mentioned above, the method of propelling the spacecraft by shining the laser light on the sail and the method of consolidating the irradiated laser light to generate electricity with a photovoltaic power generation array are generated. , There are ways to use power to drive the propulsion system. However, the research team advocates a method of 'aggregating laser light to directly heat the propellant and using its expansion to propell the spacecraft.'
Emmanuel Dupre, the lead author of the paper, can accelerate the spacecraft rapidly near the Earth by heating the propellant directly with laser light, so there is no need to keep the laser light in space. Claims that there is a merit. 'Our spacecraft is like a dragster that accelerates very quickly near Earth. Also, using the same laser engine, we put the booster back into Earth orbit after launching the main spacecraft to Mars. I believe it will be possible to recycle at the next launch. '
In the spacecraft proposed by Dupre et al., It is necessary to construct a laser with a diameter of about 10 m with an output of 100 MW on the earth, a device that concentrates the laser light in the heating chamber, and protects the spacecraft from high temperature when landing on Mars. Materials etc. are also required. In particular, the highly reflective laser light aggregator increases the laser light energy that can be maintained per area compared to the photovoltaic power generation array, so the laser light irradiation system installed on the ground can be miniaturized.
Many of the technologies related to this idea have not been tested at the time of writing the article, and there are still challenges in realizing a laser heat propulsion system. 'The laser heating chamber is probably the biggest challenge. Can we contain the propellant (hydrogen gas) that is heated to a high temperature of 10,000 degrees or more by the laser beam and at the same time cool the walls of the chamber? According to the model, this is feasible, but a full-scale experiment is not possible because the 100 MW laser has not been completed yet. '
Reducing travel time to Mars from months to weeks reduces the dangers to astronauts such as radiation and microgravity, and also reduces the logistics barriers that are the biggest challenge in Mars exploration missions. Once a fast transit system between Earth and Mars is established, it may be possible to accelerate the construction of Mars' infrastructure and build laser arrays to slow down spacecraft coming to Mars.
'Our research examined a laser heat propulsion approach, and the results were very encouraging, but laser technology itself is a true game changer,' said Professor Andrew Higgins of the research team. He said that the presence of lasers in space exploration will increase in the future.
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