NASA thruster test could slash travel time to Mars

By Dean Murray

Space scientists say they have slashed travel time to Mars.

NASA Marshall said on Monday, Aug. 10, the agency recently completed testing of a lithium-fed electromagnetic thruster, reaching more than five times the power of existing electric propulsion systems.

Paired with a nuclear power source, the new tech could significantly shorten the time it takes to reach the Red Planet, potentially cutting months off the journey.

Current rockets are estimated to achieve a travel time of around nine months each way to Mars and back.

However, an expected long stay on Mars of around 18 months would make the mission up to three years.

New thrusters could cut travel time to the Red Planet to three months and make the round-trip mission about two years total.

NASA Marshall said on Monday the technology was "powering the next giant leap to Mars", and by using a nuclear power source, "this technology could slash travel time for crewed missions to the Red Planet!"

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The technology, which could also propel robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system, was put to the test at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

The electromagnetic thruster running on lithium metal vapor was tested at power levels exceeding any previous test in the United States.

During the test, the team achieved power levels of up to 120 kilowatts, over 25 times the power of the thrusters on Psyche, which is currently operating the highest-power electric thrusters of any NASA spacecraft.

In the vacuum of space, the force Psyche's thrusters provide over time accelerates the spacecraft to 124,000 mph.

During five ignitions, the tungsten electrode at the thruster's center glowed bright white, reaching over 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,800 degrees Celsius).

NASA Marshall said: "This prototype achieved power levels beyond the highest-power electric thrusters on any of the agency's current spacecraft.

"Valuable data from the first firing of this thruster will help inform an upcoming series of tests."

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said: "At NASA, we work on many things at once, and we haven't lost sight of Mars. The successful performance of our thruster in this test demonstrates real progress toward sending an American astronaut to set foot on the Red Planet.

"This marks the first time in the United States that an electric propulsion system has operated at power levels this high, reaching up to 120 kilowatts. We will continue to make strategic investments that will propel that next giant leap."