So it seems photonic propulsion is one of the better options we currently have. The peculiar “EM drive,” meanwhile, still makes headlines although, barring a significant contravention of the laws of physics, it seems destined to follow cold fusion into the dustbin of scientific history. Other ideas have been mooted, including Charles Bombardier’s somewhat fanciful Solar Express concept, which could-theoretically-reach something like 1% of the speed of light. The technology is still in development, and has some key challenges-most notably building a space-capable nuclear reactor to power the engine array-but it seems to be one of the most immediately realizable technologies for fast interplanetary travel. One very promising avenue leads to the VASIMR nuclear electric thruster, which opens up the possibility of a journey to the Red Planet in only 40 days. It is being called-with a typically NASA-esque acronymic flair (though in this case to somewhat unfortunate effect)-Directed Energy Propulsion for Interstellar Exploration (DEEP-IN).Īs we begin to seriously prepare for our first journey to Mars, there’s been a flurry of research into novel propulsion methods to help get us there. Lubin’s team was awarded a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) grant, to the tune of $100,000, to begin the planning and testing phase of the project. Called “photonic propulsion,” it requires little more than a solar sail of ultralight material, which is pushed along by energy beamed from an orbital laser array. With current methods of chemical rocket propulsion-the same that have been used for some three-quarters of a century-a voyage to the Red Planet would take about five months.īut a team of NASA scientists, headed by Philip Lubin of the University of California, Santa Barbara, have envisioned a different means of getting about space-one that requires nothing more than a beam of light. It’s about three days to the Moon, which isn’t too bad but Mars is another story altogether. The Mars Exploration Program studies Mars as a planetary system in order to understand the formation and early evolution of Mars as a planet, the history of geological processes that have shaped Mars through time, the potential for Mars to have hosted life, and the future exploration of Mars by humans. Space is big, as you might have heard-and it takes a long time to get around. The clever boys and girls at NASA are always dreaming up new ways to circumvent the biggest obstacle to effective space travel: the speed barrier.

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