A Laser System Designed to Shorten Reaching Mars by Months

The red planet Mars, the planet that comes after Earth in the solar system, has been one of the most curious planets since the early times when people were interested in the stars. However, due to the inadequacy of the available technology and the distance of approximately 55 million kilometers, Mars can only be observed with the sent spacecraft and telescopes at the moment.

As such, one of the biggest challenges to set foot on Mars and colonize the planet stands out as how to quickly send astronauts to the Red Planet. A plan developed by a research team to quickly send a spacecraft to Mars is promising for solving this problem.

It may be possible to reach Mars in 45 days

According to NASA’s data, it currently takes at least 7 months to reach Mars. A system designed by a team from McGill University in Canada argues that this time required to send a spacecraft to Mars may be shortened to months, lasting only 45 days.

Developed by the research team, the system uses a 10-metre-wide laser array positioned on Earth to power an orbiting spacecraft. The system is based on the principle that these lasers heat the spacecraft’s hydrogen plasma until it produces enough superheated hydrogen gas to reach Mars. If that works, this plan basically needs to provide enough propulsion to get us from Earth to other planets without having to worry about launching tons of fuel into space.

from the team that devised the concept following an engineering challenge NASA initiated to design a way to go to Mars that could carry a payload of 1,000 kilograms in a maximum period of 45 days. “Laser-thermal propulsion enables rapid one-ton transport missions with laser arrays the size of a volleyball court,” notes Emmanuel Duplay, a former student of the Summer Undergraduate Research Program.

But the first humans to go to Mars probably won’t get there using laser-thermal propulsion technology. Stating that more people will need to travel to maintain a long-term colony that will be established here after humans set foot on Mars, Duplay states that we will need propulsion systems that will get us there faster, even just to avoid radiation hazards.

The system uses the Martian atmosphere to slow down the spacecraft

Aiming to take important materials and astronauts to Mars colonies in a short time, rather than a month-long journey with conventional chemical-fueled rockets under normal conditions. Once the system reaches Mars, it uses the planet’s thin atmosphere to perform an “aerobrake” maneuver, a delicate and potentially dangerous maneuver that quickly slows the ship down. Conventional spacecraft use chemical propellants to stall, which means more weight is required in the payload to carry the fuel. With the new system that uses the atmosphere of Mars, it is aimed to prevent this situation.

While the design sounds great and excites space travel promises, it’s still in the conceptual development stage, so it’s still too early to say anything about how feasible it will be.

Judging by Dupley’s statement that traveling to Mars using a laser-thermal system will be possible only 10 years after the first manned Mars mission, we’ll have to make do with conventional rockets that could potentially explode on the launch pad for a while. looks like.