Bill Jones February 8, 2025 EST EIRNS
Russian scientists are in the process of developing a prototype of a plasma rocket engine that will allow human travel between planets and open up visits to Mars, Russian daily {Izvestia reports on Feb. 8. The prototype engine, created on the basis of a magnetic-plasma accelerator, demonstrates impressive characteristics: a thrust of at least 6N and a specific impulse of at least 100 km/s. Unlike traditional chemical engines, the plasma version allows spacecraft to reach higher speeds.
According to Alexey Voronov, Deputy Director General of Rosatom, the use of such engines can reduce the flight time to Mars to 30-60 days, which will significantly reduce the risks associated with astronauts’ long stay in space.
“We still take off from the surface using chemical engines, but in space we no longer carry the fuel that is needed to accelerate our system, but we carry a small amount of gas in a cylinder and accelerate the system with this gas,” said Yegor Biryulin, a junior research fellow at the Rosatom facility building the engine.
The work was carried out within the framework of a comprehensive program for the development of nuclear science, engineering and technology in Russia, which in 2025 became part of the new national project of technological leadership, “New Nuclear and Energy Technologies.”
Preparations for testing are already underway at the Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Thermonuclear Research, in Moscow; an experimental stand with a vacuum chamber that simulates the conditions of outer space is being assembled. The dimensions of the chamber are 4 meters in diameter and 14 meters in length.
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By Independent News Roundup