Elon Musk Just LEAKED A New Rocket Engine That Will Get Us To Mars In 39 Days

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ever wonder what the future of space travel might  be like in a lot of Science Fiction Tales humans   have colonized planets and asteroids all around  the star system this is not simple to execute in   real life at least not with the technology we have  at present time given the hundreds of millions   of miles that separate us from even the closest  orbital bodies but with Elon Musk preparing for   the first orbital of Starship We Are remarkably  getting closer if this is successful this will be   another historical milestone in space exploration  and the SpaceX team is not stopping from here   cause recently the tech billionaire just leaked a  new rocket engine that will get us to Mars in as   fast as 39 days what could this be let's find out  hello everyone welcome back to Elon Musk Evolution   where we bring you the most recent news about Elon  Musk and his multi-billion dollar companies space   news and the latest science and technology  but before we begin make sure you subscribe   to our Channel and click the Bell icon so you  don't miss any of our amazing videos even the   Journey to Mars our nearest neighbor is expected  to take seven months according to NASA this is why   science fiction authors frequently designed strong  propulsion systems for their spacecrafts such as   warp drives Epstein drives and hyperdrives that  enable people to travel great distances in days   or minutes as opposed to months or years due to  the limits of conventional rocketry these typical   flight times are necessary yet cutting-edge  technology that seems like it belongs in a science   fiction movie is now emerging and could eventually  replace traditional Rockets entirely these   month-long flying periods might be reduced to a  matter of days thanks to its increased efficiency   there are several examples of this technology  being used in space missions right now even if the   technology is still in development what kind of  technology is this ionized engines and with them   the future may be far closer than you realize to  start with what exactly is an ion engine for those   who are unfamiliar and how do they differ from  the traditional Rockets we are familiar with today   the conservation of momentum is the guiding  concept for all rocketry if you want to move   higher you must launch something else with  sufficient downward momentum to match your   desired upward motion rocket fuel is burned in  conventional chemical Rockets to accomplish this   a chemical like liquid methane gets heated  and expanded when oxidizer is mixed with it   similar to releasing the air from within  a balloon to send it zooming about the   room the bottom of the rocket shoots out this  stream of Highly energetic exhaust which sends   the top of the rocket flying upwards in these  situations momentum is conserved in our balloon   example the Air's momentum leaving the balloon  is equal to the momentum of the balloon's motion   with the rocket the upward force of the rocket is  equal to the momentum of the exhaust theoretically   all you would need is a very enormous balloon  that you could just blow up to go into space yet   using this approach would provide a challenge  very shortly you would exhaust all of your air   rendering you unable to continue producing  thrust rocket propulsion with balloons is   not particularly effective this is a part of the  issue with our chemical Rockets right now as well   chemical Rockets are not particularly effective  since there is a maximum speed at which exhaust   material can be accelerated by burning fuel  even though burning the fuel does give it more   kinetic energy than merely squeezing it out  of a balloon with such a rocket burning more   fuel is the only way to go quicker rather than  burning it hotter nevertheless this results in   a larger and heavier rocket that uses more fuel  as well as a need for more fuel to be carried and   after you run out of that fuel there is nothing  else you can do to continue producing thrust the   NASA Mission to Mars will take seven months  because of fuel conservation it is impossible   for them to develop a rocket that is big enough  and fuel efficient enough to speed people to Mars   think about some of the Rockets being launched  right now like the Artemis 1 SLS rocket that   recently sent a spacecraft to the Moon a much  closer Target that are over 60 meters in size   there were 2.8 million liters of fuel in its  primary core stage which was completely full   only the first 10 minutes after takeoff did the  entire fuel get used up a ship that is absurdly   big and requires an enormous amount of thrust just  to lift off the ground is required to carry enough   fuel to speed all the way to Mars very simply  it is ineffective mass times velocity are the   components of momentum chemical Rockets attempt to  go more quickly by merely launching more mass out   the back of their engines what if we however  accelerated the speed at which that bulk was   thrown you would have additional push as a result  of the increased momentum ion engines can help in   situations like this ion engines try to provide  their propellant with electrical thrust instead   of burning fuel to produce rapid expansion they  try to produce ions or charged particles which are   subsequently driven through electromagnetic fields  occasionally reaching speeds of 146 000 kilometers   per hour depending on the model the more momentum  you could give such a particle depends on how much   electricity you have the more speed your rocket  gains to fly forward the quicker it will leave the   back of your rocket hence if you could generate  enough electrical energy to accelerate your   particles you could travel using much less fuel  ion engines are a lot more effective than chemical   Rockets which is the main lesson ion engines could  handle 90 efficiency whilst chemical rocket fuel   efficiency could only reach 35 percent although  the efficiency of the various versions varies they   all accelerate with a lot less propellant they  can accelerate for years in fact due to their   extreme speed the NASA space shuttles can travel  at a top speed of 29 000 kilometers per hour so   this acceleration adds up ion thrusters  are able to travel at 11 times that speed   the maximum is the amount of electricity you are  capable of producing not the amount of fuel in   the tank then why haven't we already started using  ion engines if they are so Superior the question   is a little bit misleading they've been put to  use by us in case it's conventional thrusters   failed the recent NASA Dart mission was outfitted  with a next gridded ion thruster Deep Space 1 used   an n-star ion engine to get to far off comets  in order to stabilize its satellites Soviet   Satellites employed hall effect thrusters a type  of ion propulsion between 1972 and the late 1990s   today's satellites continue to employ this  feature also using half effect thrusters our   spacex's starlink satellites via the use of these  Rockets entire space stations have been propelled   four hall effect thrusters are also employed  to alter and maintain the orbit of the Chinese   Tian gong space station which is propelled by  propellant according to reports there have been   no issues with 8240 hours of continuous operation  of these thrusters ion thrusters of the current   generation do however have a flaw which prevents  them from being fully prepared to take the place   of all conventional Rockets as you may have  guessed their Achilles heel is their deadly fault   the oomph of ion thrusters currently available  is awful to demonstrate this idea imagine holding   out your palm in front of an ion Thruster while  attempting to stop it from moving the force you   would experience would be roughly equivalent  to the weight of a single sheet of paper the   requirement of doing so is that ion thrusters are  capable of sustained acceleration they are very   safe because they typically use chemically inert  gases as fuel particles can be driven to extremely   high speeds but because there aren't many of  them being moved at once the push is minuscule   for a spaceship to escape the Earth's strong  gravitational field more propulsion must be   generated by means other than an ion engine  naturally this little push can mount up in space   because there is no air resistance to contend with  and there is ample time if there is nothing in   your way even a slight acceleration will bring you  there for comparison it may take a few days for   some space ion engines to propel a spacecraft  to a speed equivalent to that of a moving car   ion thrusters thus have a specific application in  Long Distance missions one that can sustain orbits   with only a modest amount of force or for moving  incredibly small objects such as Tiny satellites   yet they have a long way to go before they can  transport mankind very far we must also solve   other issues ion engines function by building  circuits which are networks of moving electrons   that can carry charge and produce magnetic and  electrical forces the delicate equilibrium of   these circuits however can be disturbed by ions  from the atmosphere the engine loses its ability   to produce the proper fields which prevents  it from constantly accelerating if the circuit   malfunctions due to excess negative charges  entering the system when they shouldn't or   abruptly leaking out in addition chemically inert  Xenon the finest fuel source for ION engines is   extremely expensive and difficult to come by one  thousand dollars per kg all of these issues must   be solved for ION engines to replace Rockets as  the main means of space travel in the future yet   various initiatives are being made to fulfill that  goal the European space agency and the Australian   National University are working together to build  a brand new form of ion Thruster called a Helicon   Thruster ion thrusters are becoming even more  well suited to those lengthy space missions   thanks to advancements that increase Thruster  efficiency even further reduce part wear and make   it possible some in development ion thrusters are  constructed in a way that enables them to employ   a considerably larger variety of fuel sources the  confusingly called magnetoplasma Dynamic Thruster   can be set up in a variety of ways to use hydrogen  argon ammonium or nitrogen as fuel it may even be   able to use the ambient gas in low earth orbit in  some circumstances imagine a spacecraft using air   as its only fuel source and air alone serving as  its sole waste output the ever-improving vasmir   variable specific impulse magnetoplasma rocket  possesses this quality as well the rocket is   particularly exciting because it can run on nearly  any fuel source albeit prefers argon argon is a   considerably more practical fuel source than its  rival Xenon since it is 200 times less expensive   vassimir is more powerful than other ion thrusters  astronauts might travel to Mars in just 39 days   according to vassimir's creators there are  still some issues with the technology though   it consumes a ton of energy because the plasma  it contains must be heated to a temperature of   1 million degrees Celsius or 173 times that of  the surface of the Sun even when we do it will be   difficult to get rid of the extra heat this makes  because there is nothing in space to send it to   because we do not yet have power sources that are  effective enough to feed this engine at the levels   required for that 39-day Journey ion thrusters are  a promising new class of propulsion but they are   a long way from being able to completely replace  traditional Rockets although extremely efficient   their weak thrust leaves much to be desired  yet even if an ion engine is never created   with the thrust required to escape a planet's  gravity well this potential to drastically   cut the amount of time needed to reach far-off  worlds and its benefits will still be available   ion thrusters have already found a place in  the satellite Transportation industry as an   effective mode of movement the technological  problems with ion thrusters are still being   researched for short Burn High thrust missions  conventional chemical Rockets are still the sole   viable alternative yet if those difficulties are  resolved one day this might no longer be the case   ion engines may end up being the only kind of  engine that is viable for deep space exploration   the solar system as a whole will thereafter  become completely accessible to mankind one   day perhaps it will be able to take a short trip  to Mars This may be just another instance of how   science fiction can eventually become reality  meanwhile the new NASA nuclear rocket plan   aims to get to Mars in just 45 days recently  NASA just revealed that a nuclear thermal and   nuclear electric propulsion is a top contender in  transporting humans to Mars throughout the space   race NASA and the Soviet space program invested  decades in the study of nuclear propulsion NASA   has restarted its nuclear program in an effort  to create bimodal nuclear propulsion a two-part   system made up of an ntp and NEP element which  would allow transits to Mars in only 100 days   a nuclear concept was chosen by NASA for phase  one development as part of the NASA Innovative   advanced concepts program for 2023 with the use  of a wave rotor topping cycle this new form of   bimodal nuclear propulsion system might cut the  time it takes to travel to Mars to just 45 days   Professor Ryan gossey the hypersonics  program Area Head of the University   of Florida and a member of the Florida  applied research and engineering team   presented the idea under the title bimodal  ntp NEP with a wave rotor topping cycle   the NAIC chose gaussy's proposal as one of 14 for  phase one development this year which includes a   twelve thousand five hundred dollar Grant to help  the technology and procedures involved to mature   Innovative manufacturing processes Power  Systems sensors instruments and other items   were also proposed the fundamentals of nuclear  propulsion can be divided into two principles   Each of which is based on technology that has  undergone extensive testing and verification   nuclear reactors are used in nuclear thermal  propulsion which uses them to heat liquid   hydrogen propellant into ionized hydrogen gas  which is then sent through nozzles to produce   thrust this propulsion system has been built  and tested in a number of attempts including   project Rover a joint venture between the U.S Air  Force and the atomic energy commission that was   initiated in 1955. the program began a new phase  devoted to space flight applications in 1959 after  

NASA took control from the USAF in the end a solid  core nuclear reactor called the nuclear engine for   Rocket vehicle application or nerva was created as  a result and tested successfully the program was   terminated prior to conducting any flight testing  because funding for it was substantially cut when   the Apollo age ended in 1973. between 1965 and  1980 the Soviet Union created its own ntp idea   rd0410 and before the program was discontinued  it carried out one ground test contrarily nuclear   electric propulsion uses a nuclear reactor to  supply electricity to an ion engine known as   a hall effect Thruster this type of Thruster  uses an electromagnetic field to accelerate   and ionize an inert gas such as Xenon in order to  produce thrust NASA's nuclear systems initiative   project Prometheus is one effort to create this  technology 2003-2005. both methods outperform   traditional chemical propulsion in a number of  ways including better specific impulse ratings   improved fuel efficiency and practically Limitless  energy density the thrust level is quite modest   compared to traditional rockets and ntp despite  the fact that NEP ideas are notable for providing   more than ten thousand seconds of ISP which means  they can maintain thrust for about three hours   gossy claims that the requirement for an electric  power source also brings up the issue of heat   rejection in space where Optimum conditions result  in a thermal energy conversion of 30 to 40 percent   furthermore even while ntp nerva designs are  the favorite technique for crew trips to Mars   and Beyond this technique still has difficulties  supplying appropriate initial and terminal Mass   fractions for high Delta V missions bimodal  Concepts which would integrate the benefits   of both propulsion Technologies are therefore  preferred under agassi's plan a bimodal design   based on a solid Court nerva reactor would be used  to produce a specific impulse of 900 seconds which   is twice as powerful as chemical rockets at the  moment a pressure wave supercharger also known   as a wave rotor is another component of the  cycle suggested by gaussy this device is used   in internal combustion engines to compress intake  air by using pressure waves generated by reactions   the WR would employ pressure generated by  the reactor's heating of the lh2 fuel to   further compress the reaction Mass when coupled  with an ntp engine this will generate thrust   levels similar to those of a nerva class ntp  concept but with an ISP of 1400 to 2000 seconds   as gaussy claims according to gaussy thrust  levels are increased even more when combined   with an NEP cycle coupled with an NEP cycle the  duty cycle ISP can further be increased 1800 to   4000 seconds with minimal addition of dry Mass  this bimodal design enables the fast transit for   manned missions 45 days to Mars and revolutionizes  the deep space exploration of our solar system   a crude Journey to Mars might last up to three  years with current propulsion technology every   26 months when Earth and Mars are closest to one  another this is known as the Mars opposition these   missions would be launched they would spend  a minimum of six to nine months in transit   the duration of the mission would be cut down to  months rather than years with a Transit of 45 days   as a result there would be a large decrease  in the main hazards connected to trips to   Mars including radiation exposure time spent in  microgravity and Associated health issues there   are suggestions for brand new reactor designs that  in addition to propulsion would offer a consistent   power source for lengthy surface missions where  solar and wind power are not constantly available   examples include the hybrid fission fusion  reactor chosen for phase one development by   NASA's neic 2023 selection and the kilo power  reactor utilizing Sterling technology project   crew Journeys to Mars and other planets in deep  space may be possible in the future possibly even   sooner than we believe thanks to these and other  nuclear applications and that ends today's episode   what do you think of this episode let us know your  thoughts in the comment box below please subscribe   and don't forget to like today's video we'll  see you in the next video thanks for watching

2023-02-27

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