Does New Propulsion Technology Make It Possible?
Former U.S. astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz says reaching the Red Planet could be dramatically faster using his high-tech VASIMR rocket, now on track for liftoff after decades of development. The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket is fast becoming a centerpiece of NASA’s go-commercial strategy as it looks to private firms to help meet the astronomical costs of space exploration. “In the early days… NASA support for the project was rather minimal because the agency did not emphasize advanced technologies as much as it’s doing now,” Chang-Diaz said. Pic: Artist rendering of the VASIMR powered spacecraft heading to Mars. Credit: Ad Astra. The Costa Rican-American MIT trained physicist/rocket scientist has some interesting insights on the kind of power and propulsion that will be needed to truly colonize space. By his calculations, a trip to Mars could take as little as 39 days, and, with the development of nuclear-powered travel, people could visit anywhere in the solar system w
