Breaking every record, NASA's new propulsion opens the opportunity to conquer Mars

NASA's new X3 propulsion engine for the next generation of rockets, broke a series of records in the latest test, bringing the dream of conquering Mars closer to humanity.

Co-developed by researchers at the University of Michigan and the US Air Force, the X3 is an ion-fueled engine designed to propel spacecraft . Fuel in the form of plasma in the engine will generate much more repulsive force than the use of previous chemical fuels.

Previously used chemical fuel rockets helped propel missiles flying at 5km per second, while the X3 can boost this speed to 40km per second, which is 8 times faster.

Acceleration of missile speeds is suitable for long distance journeys, such as flying to Mars. In fact, many aviation agencies around the world are also developing propulsion for ships to bring people to Mars in the next 20 years.

External ion engines accelerate the speed, also more efficient than chemical engines when comparing the same mass and the same distance. Accordingly, new engines need less fuel while being able to transport more goods and bring more astronauts into space.

NASA's new X3 engine simulation graphics is being developed.(Photo: NASA).

Alec Gallimore, the project leader, said that with the same amount of fuel, ion engines could go 10 times more than chemical engines. This is because chemical fuels occupy large volumes, so ships need more space to carry large amounts of fuel along.

Bussard jets are a new generation of rockets. It collects diffused hydrogen in space with the weight of a spoon, and as long as it does, it can quickly reach speeds close to the speed of light on its flight path.

Could one day upgrade our technology and create a device that moves faster than light? According to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, nothing can go faster than light, unless all laws of physics collapse.

However, we can bridge the gap between space and help shorten the distance, so we can indirectly go faster than the speed of light. But in fact, the current technology has not done this.

Practical tests of the recent X3 engine show that it can operate at 100kW - the highest level of any ion-fueled machine so far. It also breaks the record for the level of power generated to operate.

This technology will be the first brick to build a state-of-the-art technology system that will help bring people to Mars in the next two decades. However, this technology is not without restrictions.

Compared to chemical fuel rockets, the propulsion of ion engines is quite small. This means that it must operate for a very long time to achieve the same acceleration as when using chemical fuels, and as such it is not suitable to start the engine and take off. fly up.

However, engineers are still trying to overcome these problems. In 2018, the team will continue to put the X3 engine into a practical test, expected to last 100 hours continuously. A screen curtain system is also being developed to prevent the plasma from destroying the compartment walls of the compartment, allowing it to operate longer.