Russian scientists develop unique propulsion system: 62 miles per second, from Earth to Mars in 30-60 days

Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation, Rosatom, have unveiled a new prototype of propulsion system that would reduce space travel times by various orders of magnitude.

Known as a plasma rocket, the system produces at least six newtons of thrust and operates with a specific impulse of at least 62 miles per second - speeds humankind have never been able to reach.

Using ionized gas to generate thrust, plasma engines accelerate charged particles using electromagnetic fields. The theory is quite astonishing and incredibly efficient, meaning that fuel consumption would drastically drop compared to the usual propulsion systems in use today. While they work just fine, they are wasteful and the speeds are, compared to plasma engines, much slower.

‘It will be possible to send an astronaut to Mars and back’

At the time of writing, a rocket travelling from Earth to Mars - a 140-million mile journey - on a modern propulsion system takes around a year; a plasma-powered ship would need just 30-60 days.

Alexey Voronov, first deputy director general for science at the Research Institute in Troitsk, Atom Media, a Rosatom affiliated outlet, that “currently, a flight to Mars is dangerous for astronauts due to cosmic radiation and exposure to radiation. Using plasma engines can shorten the mission, meaning it will be possible to send an astronaut to Mars and back.”

“The creation of the prototype is one of the most important stages of the project, since it determines whether such an engine will be suitable for space ‘nuclear tugboats’ in the future, whether it will be possible to reduce the cost of their production as a whole,” Voronov added.

World Nuclear News reports that “a large-scale experimental stand is being assembled to test the prototype, featuring a 14-metre-long/4-metre-diameter vacuum chamber to simulate the conditions of outer space for the tests."

Russia’s Izvestia newspaper said that the new technology “will allow spacecraft to make interplanetary flights and even go beyond the solar system” and that “the flight model of the unit will appear in 2030”.

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