The trip to Mars originally would have
taken approximately 300 days. Now with the new technology of plasma rockets, it
will take six times less time. That's right: only 39 days to Mars. This is made
possible by the Variable Specific Impulse Magneto plasma Rocket (VASIMR), an
advanced space propulsion system that uses argon gas and radio waves in the
form of light—a renewable source of energy that is found in space.
The project, led by Frank Chang-Díaz , a
former NASA astronaut who has he been to space seven times andspent more than 1
600 hours in space, is being developed by Ad Astra Rocket Co. Ad Astra Rocket
Co. has currently invested $30 million in the project so far, but Chang-Díaz
says it will take $100 million to have the rocket ready to go.
The sun, lightning and plasma
televisions are all things that possess plasma, one of the most important parts
of the VASIMR. There is one major problem with the use of plasma, though: it
gets extremely hot. In fact, it can go up to over 1 million degrees. To combat
this heating effect, the plasma is guided along a magnetic duct that eventually
ejects it out of the rocket, keeping it cool enough to function.
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