Ion Rocket Engine Can Take Us to Mars Faster
Just like in Star Trek!
The mission to Mars is something that's finally closer to reach, thanks to an ion propulsion system designed partly in Canada. Yes, it's kind of like Star Trek and ion propulsion should in theory allow us to travel in space faster than ever.
In fact, the new rocket engine design could allow astronauts to travel to Mars in just 39 days – a monumental discovery, considering conventional rockets would require six months for the same journey.
This is particularly important because Mars and Earth only pass close together once every two years, meaning that astronauts would have to travel to and from only during those periods. Such a wait time would require a surplus of supplies of food, air and water.
With ion propulsion's expected 39 day trip time, astronauts would be able to make a return trip during the same Earth/Mars pass.
"If you can cut that voyage down to just a matter of seven or eight weeks then of course you can carry way less stuff," Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said Tuesday on Canada AM. "And if you don't have to carry so much fuel to slow down when you get there or to bring you back, it just scopes the whole thing down to where it becomes maybe a practical problem to solve rather than an almost an impossibility."
The ion drive engine is able to turn electrical power into thrust, which would make solar panels extra useful. And how might these engines be used?
"The big difference is you don't just fire your engines for 10 minutes and then coast for six months. You can continue to thrust the whole way," Hadfield said. "And what you do is thrust for 16 days or 18 days going one way and then you turn around backwards and you slow down. So you keep your engine running the whole way."
The tests for this engine are expected to commence around 2013 on the International Space Station.
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Classic Earthworm Jim Inches...
Just put two of them on the craft and you get a TIE ferry...
Good job Canada.
I want to see a Biefeld-brown/superfluid engine though.
Very cool and also not mentioned if you are under constant thrust you will have a type of artificial gravity too.
Awesome! Twin Ion Engine Fighters incoming!
wow, sorry, but i read this over on physorg about 2 weeks ago
Sing it slowly now:
"dah-dah-dah-dahhhhhhh! dah! dah-dah-dah-dah!!! dah! dah-dah-dah-dah!!! dah! dah-dah-dah-dahhhhhh!"
Interestingly, it took Columbus 36 days to sail from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas.
Yay canada
this idea has been around for a loooonnngg time. it's good to see that they are testing it.
basically they take a heavy noble gass like xenon and ionize it. then they fire it out the back with increadably fast (using an electric current). this engine does not create as much thrust as a rocket engine, but the idea is you can fire this for weeks at a time while using little energy.
Interestingly, it took Columbus 36 days to sail from the Canary Islands to the Bahamas.
Yes...although I don't think that the astronauts will have the option to get a tropical tan
and it u can complete the trip in 30 dats using the Intel i9 six core
FLAME ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sing it slowly now:"dah-dah-dah-dahhhhhhh! dah! dah-dah-dah-dah!!! dah! dah-dah-dah-dah!!! dah! dah-dah-dah-dahhhhhh!"
I don't know whether to flame you for getting the wrong "star" series. Or to hold off my nerdly urges, to avoid the ridicule that comes with recognizing something like that.
cool
strap a couple of the engines from the falcon program and you have the makes of a cool plain/space craft 
wow only one negative post, come on hide me ppl
Ok that is cool and probably meaningful regardless of how I feel about playing in space.
Yes...although I don't think that the astronauts will have the option to get a tropical tan
...or take off their helmets
They had Ion Engines in Star Trek?
I've been keeping up with this research for awhile and I think this is some of the most revolutionary engineering of our century.
and it u can complete the trip in 30 dats using the Intel i9 six coreFLAME ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I gave you a thumbs down just for saying "dats" let alone the i9 watever bs, what are you 8?
"Ion propulsion system designed partly in Canada." The last I looked, the most advanced ion engine was primarily designed by Ad Astra in Texas. It's the VASIMR engine. Yes, Canada builds one of the main pieces of hardware for it, yes they were involved. I'm not trying to take that away from Canada, its just that you obviously skipped over any details of the origin of the engine, or you didn't bother to do any actual independent research. Or you're just the Al Gore of Canada, inventing the internet AND ion engines.
"The ion drive engine is able to turn electrical power into thrust, which would make solar panels extra useful." Do you think solar panels would generate enough electricity to reliably power these things? The current VX-200 generated 201 kilowatts, enough to keep the ISS afloat using .3 tons of fuel. I've seen estimates for a Mars mission requiring a 10-20 megawatt ion engine. That would require some serious solar panels... but then again I hear they build everything bigger in Texas. Maybe they'll have a couple of square miles of solar panels strapped to that baby.
This ion propulsion system is called VASIMR and runs at 200-kW with Argon propellant to produce a whopping 2 to 20 lb of thrust...While this engine is neat and uses some crazy superconducting magnets it is actually less efficient at ~40% (thrust-power/electrical-power) than traditional ion engines (>70%) and hall effect thrusters (50-70%). A few pre-existing Hall thrusters (such as the 72-kW NASA-457M which was built and tested way back in 2002 and doesn't use supercoducting magnets) slapped onto the ISS or a Mars spacecraft would leave a VASIMR propelled craft in the interplanetary cosmic dust!
How about exploring our own planet first? We, as an ENTIRE SPECIES, have but only explored.. ummmm... 1-2% of our oceans? Yea! Let's go to MARS! GTFOD!
A Nuke reactor... Its space, not even you environuts can complain about them in space. They can provide all the power you need for several years.
If we build cities in the ocean.. We just end up destroying another envoriment. If we build cities on mars/moon what is there to destroy? I say space is the way to go. We have to move on to something else.. If not it will eventually catch up with us.
Yay ,maybe I will live to see teh warp drive. =3 (and W3. T_T)
Yay ,maybe I will live to see teh warp drive. =3 (and WW3. T_T)
Yay ,maybe I will live to see teh warp drive. =3 (and WW3. T_T)
First off, Winrar fellow Canada.
Secondly, this is fairly old news, but I assume they've just made breakthroughs? I recall reading of this last year.
Damn you toms hardware for your glithyness and making me unable to see one comment , let alone that I posted THREE.
This is awesome!
AlexTheBlue:
I completely agree. It's not that we would have any problems getting there via electrical propulsion, our technology in that field is fairly advanced. The one thing we truly need that doesn't get enough attention in a new type of battery. They were talking for warp drive that you need the power of 10 suns (not sure on actual amount, I believe I'm close). So before we waste time making the motors, make the fuel.
ion engines have been around for awhile. nasa developed it first and used it already. then europe did.