Erasing The Distance: New Laser Propulsion System Will Get You To Mars In 45 Days

McGill University academics and engineers claim to have developed a new laser-propelled spaceship capable of transporting passengers from Earth to Mars in a little over six weeks.

As per NASA’s estimations, the possible journey time for mankind to reach Mars is now approximately 500 days, with the shortest path connecting Earth and Mars to be 54.6 million kilometers.

The researchers propose a directed-energy propulsion mechanism based on huge Earth-based lasers that would allow a spaceship to jet-shot between Earth and Mars in the allotted time.

The experts claim that by using the technique, they would be able to rapidly accelerate a spaceship near Earth utilizing lasers. The spaceship is propelled farther into space by these light rays at a rate similar to a fraction of the velocity of light. The probe should reach Mars within the next month as a result of the acceleration.

While the primary vehicle will arrive on Mars within 45 days, the remainder of the ship will be repurposed for the next flight.

The design is shown to be instantly reusable through a burn-back maneuver that returns the propulsion unit to Earth’s laser range. This shorter trip time may be accomplished by the use of nuclear fission-powered rockets, but this has significant radiation concerns. This proposed system seems to be the solution to this issue.

Though this seems like a realistic technique for reaching Mars or maybe exploring other deep-space regions of our cosmos, no spacecraft exists to test this notion.

Whilst Elon Musk believes humanity will be able to visit Mars within six years, NASA, as well as China, want to transport people there in the 2030s. As a result, we may anticipate researchers and engineers developing and building a spaceship capable of supporting the laser-based directed-energy drive technology and conducting studies on this concept.