Group items tagged

large metal rings (likely made of lithium

Last month

presented their mission analysis for a trip to Mars, along with detailed computer modeling and initial experimental results

one of a handful of projects awarded a second round of funding last fall after already receiving phase-one money in a field of 15 projects chosen from more than 700 proposals

NASA estimates a round-trip human expedition to Mars would take more than four years using current technology

team have published papers calculating the potential for 30- and 90-day expeditions to Mars using a rocket powered by fusion, which would make the trip more practical and less costly

They have demonstrated successful lab tests of all portions of the process

Now, the key will be combining each isolated test into a final experiment that produces fusion using this technology

The research team has developed a type of plasma that is encased in its own magnetic field

Nuclear fusion occurs when this plasma is compressed to high pressure with a magnetic field.

The team has successfully tested this technique in the lab.

a small grain of sand of this material has the same energy content as 1 gallon of rocket fuel.

power a rocket, the team has devised a system in which a powerful magnetic field causes large metal rings to implode around this plasma, compressing it to a fusion state

The converging rings merge to form a shell that ignites the fusion, but only for a few microseconds

enough energy is released from the fusion reactions to quickly heat and ionize the shell

This super-heated, ionized metal is ejected out of the rocket nozzle at a high velocity. This process is repeated every minute or so, propelling the spacecraft

successfully demonstrated the metal-crushing process

The team had a sample of the collapsed, fist-sized aluminum ring resulting from one of those tests on hand for people to see and touch at the recent NASA symposium

Now, the team is working to bring it all together by using the technology to compress the plasma and create nuclear fusion

With the flip of a switch, the capacitors are simultaneously triggered to deliver 1 million amps of electricity for a fraction of a second to the magnet, which quickly compresses the metal ring.

The mechanical process and equipment used are reasonably straightforward

In actual space travel, scientists would use lithium metal as the crushing rings to power the rocket. Lithium is very reactive, and for lab-testing purposes, aluminum works just as well

Nuclear fusion may draw concern because of its application in nuclear bombs, but its use in this scenario is very different

The fusion energy for powering a rocket would be reduced by a factor of 1 billion from a hydrogen bomb, too little to create a significant explosion

Also,

concept uses a strong magnetic field to contain the fusion fuel and guide it safely away from the spacecraft and any passengers within