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Tiny battery made from silk hydrogel can run a mouse pacemaker
Tiny battery made from silk hydrogel can run a mouse pacemaker
Massive, bustling Perseus galaxy cluster dazzles in new telescope image
Celebrating Spooky Lake Month with Its Creator Geo Rutherford
An open body of water can be particularly eerie. It’s part of what led creator and author Geo Rutherford to make her viral videos on Spooky Lakes.
Thin cool surface skin boosts ocean’s carbon uptake
New research, partially funded by ESA, reveals that the cool ‘ocean skin’ allows oceans to absorb more atmospheric carbon dioxide than previously thought. These findings could enhance global carbon assessments, shaping more effective emission-reduction policies.
Seven ways navigation tech contributes to sustainability
What does satellite navigation have to do with sustainable development? Quite a lot, in fact. Satnav and other positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies provide critical data that support green solutions across numerous sectors. From enabling smart mobility to optimising energy grids and facilitating precision farming, the potential for PNT to drive sustainability is immense.
Earth from Space: Northern Ohio
Crew-8 astronauts splash down on SpaceX Dragon Endeavour after weather delays (video)
Chinese Company is Taking Space Tourism Orders for 2027 Flights
China has some bold plans for space research and exploration that will be taking place in the coming decades. This includes doubling the size of their Tiangong space station, sending additional robotic missions to the Moon, and building the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) around the lunar south pole. They also hope to begin sending crewed missions to Mars by 2033, becoming the first national space agency to do so. Not to be left behind in the commercial space sector, China is also looking to create a space tourism industry that offers suborbital flights for customers.
One of the companies offering these services is Jiangsu Deep Blue Aerospace Technology, a private launch company founded in November 2016 by Chinese entrepreneur Huo Liang. On October 24th, at 6:00 pm local time (03:00 am PDT; 06:00 am EDT), during a “Make Friends” Taobao live broadcast, Huo shared the companies’ latest progress on their commercial spacecraft. He also announced the pre-sale of tickets for the first suborbital launch in 2027. The company also posted an infographic with the details of the flight on the Chinese social media platform Weixin (WeChat).
Commercial space travel has advanced considerably in the U.S. and other countries in recent years. In 2021, Virgin Galactic launched its first commercial space mission from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, New Mexico, ferrying Sir Richard Branson and selected passengers to space. A few weeks later, Blue Origin conducted the first crewed mission of its New Shepard rocket, with CEO Jeff Bezos and a crew of five taking off from the company’s launch site near El Paso, Texas. Later that year, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft took four passengers to orbit as part of the mission, Inspiration4, first all-civilian spaceflight.
Deep Blue Aerospace's new hop test (5-10 km level) failed in the final stages today in Inner Mongolia, according to this news report. Waiting for video of the attempt. https://t.co/bexXAZzWwo https://t.co/OEWrwKu0ro
— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) September 22, 2024In addition to Deep Blue Aerospace, multiple commercial space startups have emerged in China since 2014, including Galactic Energy, LandSpace, LinkSpace, ExPace, OneSpace, and Orienspace. For several years, these companies have been researching reusable rockets and engines to realize domestic commercial launch capability. During this time, Deep Blue Aerospace has accomplished many milestones that will make commercial launches possible. Between 2021 and 2022, the company completed “hop tests” using its Nebula-1 reusable rocket, which achieved China’s first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL).
The first test occurred on October 13th, 2021, and saw the Nebula-1 complete a 100-meter (328 ft) flight, followed by a 1-km (0.62 mi) flight on May 6th, 2022. Unfortunately, the company experienced an accident during a 5 to 10 km (3 to 6.2 mi) test flight in September when a Nebula-1 first stage exploded while attempting to land. As the company stated in their infographic:
“In order to ensure the comprehensive maturity and stability of the technology, Deep Blue Aerospace is intensively preparing for the next high-altitude recovery test, striving for perfection in every detail. The improvement of rocket recovery technology will lay a solid foundation for Deep Blue Aerospace to promote suborbital travel projects and open a new chapter in human exploration of space.”
According to the company, the first high-altitude vertical recovery flight of Nebula-1’s first stage will take place in November 2024. This will be followed by the rocket’s first orbital reentry and recovery test in the first quarter of 2025 and multiple recovery and reuse tests throughout the year. The company intends to conduct dozens of tests using a fully stacked Nebula-1 rocket and crewed spacecraft in 2026. If all goes according to plan, the company will commence suborbital flights in 2027.
A side-by-side comparison of the SpaceX Dragon and Deep Blue Space space capsules.Credit: SpaceX/Deep Blue Space
The infographic also previews what the launch vehicle and spacecraft will look like, which have some notable similarities to SpaceX and Blue Origin vehicles. For instance, the crew capsule strongly resembles the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle, which includes the launch abort system consistsing of eight thrusters distributed into four clusters. However, the Dragon space capsule has only two viewports, whereas the Nebula-1 reportedly has five (though eight can be seen in the infographic), which is more akin to Blue Origin’s New Shepard space capsule, which has six large viewports.
In addition, the Nebula-1 launch vehicle is also similar in design to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This includes the payload fairing, the chassis, the grid fins on the interstage structure, and the fold-out landing legs. The Nebula-1 also has nine Thunder-R1 engines arranged in a circle around a single engine. This is very similar to the Falcon 9‘s arrangement of eight Merlin thrusters (which fire during takeoff) surrounding a single thruster used for landing. According to the rocket specifications, the Nebula-1 weighs 7,900 kg (8.7 U.S. tons) fully fueled and has a payload capacity to LEO of almost 2,000 kg (2.2 U.S. tons) – though they plan to increase this to 8,000 kg (8.8 U.S. tons)
The specs also note that the rocket has a maximum flight altitude of 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 mi) and can be reused a maximum of 50 times. This is a far cry from Falcon 9′s takeoff mass of 549,054 kg (605 U.S. tons) and a payload capacity of 22,000 kg (24.25 U.S. tons), and the number of times it can be reused is likely an inflated estimate. But the appearances still suggest that the Nebula-1’s design was inspired by the Falcon 9, which has set the standard for rocket retrieval and reusability.
Meanwhile, the spacecraft reportedly measures 4 m (13 ft) in height and 3.5 m (11.5 ft) in diameter and can carry six passengers in a single flight. This is comparable to the New Shepard space capsule and falls just short of the Dragon’s capacity of up to 7 passengers. However, the inaugural flight will consist of three crewmembers spending a total of 12 minutes in flight and 5 minutes experiencing weightlessness. The rocket will fly to an altitude of 100 km (62 mi) – aka. the Karman Line, the official boundary between Earth and space. As the company indicated:
“During the suborbital flight of Deep Blue Spacecraft, passengers will experience much more than a brief weightlessness experience. They will experience the vastness and mystery of the universe and witness the magnificent landscape beyond the earth. This will be an all-round, multi-sensory space journey that will be unforgettable for a lifetime.”
Side-by-side comparison of the Nebula-1 and Falcon 9 rockets. Credit: Deep Blue Space/SpaceXPer the pre-sale, two tickets are being offered for 1.5 million yuan, with a ticket deposit price of 50,000 yuan. This is equivalent to roughly $200,000 and $7,000, respectively. Presumably, the third seat will be occupied by Huo, who may be hoping to follow Branson and Bezos’ example by participating in the inaugural flight. The people purchasing the tickets will also receive a “1,000-yuan Cultural and Creative Gift Package” and a commemorative model of the Nebula-1 rocket. According to the infographic and statement, they will also be given the chance to view the launch of a Long March rocket from a launch center of their choice – Jiuquan, Wenchang, or Xichang.
Potential ticket buyers must also meet certain health requirements, undergo a medical evaluation, be 18 to 60 years old, and participate in pre-flight safety training a month before the flight. Because certain “technical details and specific information” will be revealed during the flight, passengers must also sign a confidentiality agreement. Additional details are provided on Deep Blue Aerospace’s Taobao official store page.
The company also plans to unveil the Nebula-2, a medium to heavy-lift launch vehicle powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene. This rocket will reportedly be capable of lifting payloads of up to 20,000 kg (22 U.S. tons) to LEO (comparable to the Falcon 9) and has an inaugural launch planned for late 2025.
Further Reading: Weixin
The post Chinese Company is Taking Space Tourism Orders for 2027 Flights appeared first on Universe Today.
Sinister Solar System
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Sols 4341-4342: A Bumpy Road
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Sols 4341-4342: A Bumpy Road This image was taken by Left Navigation Camera aboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4329 — Martian day 4,329 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — on Oct. 10, 2024, at 05:35:08 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech
Earth planning date: Monday, Oct. 21, 2024
After Curiosity’s busy weekend, the team is ready for another day of planning. We are able to take advantage of the Earth-Mars time offset to full plan on both sols of our plan today. For this plan, I served as Mobility Rover Planner, and planned Curiosity’s drive.
The first sol begins with some remote science. In this block, there is a ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam joint observation of “Ewe Lake,” to look for variation across the different layers in the rock. There is also a ChemCam RMI and a Mastcam of the “Olmstead Point” target, to see if there are chemical differences that make it darker than the surrounding rocks. Mastcam also is taking a stereo image of “Depressed Lake” (in order to see if this loose block belongs to the Stimson or the Sulfate units) and an image of the ChemCam AEGIS target the rover automatically found after the last drive.
After a nap, Curiosity wakes up to do some contact science on the “Chuck Pass” target, which is a piece of bedrock with laminations and nodules. We perform DRT brushing, MAHLI, and APXS observations of this rock before stowing the arm so we can be ready to drive on the second sol. In the late afternoon, to take advantage of the lighting conditions, we have another short set of Mastcam imaging — an atmospheric sky column observation and a stereo mosaic of “Fascination Turret” from this new angle.
The second sol also kicks off with some remote sensing. We follow up the contact science with ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam of Chuck Pass. ChemCam also takes an RMI looking east back to the area of the white sulfur stones below “Whitebark Pass” to get yet another viewing angle. There is also some atmospheric imaging, Navcam deck monitoring (to see how the dust is moving around on the rover’s deck) and a large dust devil survey.
After the imaging, we are ready to drive. This terrain has been very tricky. While the slopes are not steep, this is a very rocky area, as you can see in the image, making finding a safe path difficult. We don’t only need to worry about driving over things that are too big or too sharp, but we also have to make sure not to scrape the wheels along the side of a rock or steer them into a rock, making them wedge and stall. It also means that we do not have good stereo data out very far because the rocks block our view. The last complication is that we have to drive backwards — otherwise, the rover hardware will block Curiosity’s view of Earth during the time we want to send her the new plan. When we drive backwards, the rover hardware will block Curiosity’s view, so we need to turn to get a clear view in our images. We also take additional frames to be sure we can find the best path for the next drive. With all this, we ended up being able to drive about 32 meters today (about 105 feet). After a short diversion to get around a steering hazard, we were able to drive a fairly straight route along the path to our next major imaging stop. After the drive, we have our normal post-drive imaging, including a twilight MARDI image.
We have been lucky so far on this terrain and been able to successfully complete our recent drives. Hopefully this drive will also be successful!
Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Measuring How Much Dust Spacecraft Kick Up When they Land
The arrival of spacecraft on alien worlds uses a number of different techniques from giant air bags to parachutes and small rockets. The use of rockets can pose a problem to onboard technology though as the dust kicked up can effect sensors and cameras and the landing site can be disturbed in the process. A team of researchers have developed a new instrument that can measure the dust that is kicked up on landing to inform future instrument design.
Dust can have a significant impact on spacecraft during landing especially on bodies like the Moon and Mars. Both worlds have a fine layer of dust on the surface known as the regolith. On descent, landing thrusters can stir up large clouds of dust which reduces visibility having an impact on navigation systems, and reducing visibility. It can damage optical instruments causing scratches on lenses and accumulation of dust on solar panels. Particles can even stick to spacecraft through electrostatic adhesion leading to overheating and mechanical problems.
After taking the first boot print photo, Aldrin moved closer to the little rock and took this second shot. The dusty, sandy pebbly soil is also known as the lunar ‘regolith’. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASAThere are existing systems and instruments available to analyse the dust cloud but those instruments rely upon visual imaging, x-ray or MRI technology. The research team at the University of Illinois have developed technology that can assess displaced dust clouds using radio waves of 3.8mm wavelength. This enables them to deal with particle clouds too dense for optical examination or too thin for the x-ray analysis. The new instrument sends out radio waves just like a radar, the waves travel through the cloud and a picture of the cloud is built up.
Illustration of SpaceX Starship landing on Mars. Credit: SpaceXThe new technique relies upon the concept that the waves are generally larger than the dust particles. As they travel through the dust, they are slowed down by a tiny amount and this reduction in velocity enables the cloud to be modelled. If light waves were used, they could not pass through the dust.
The Radar Interferometry for Landing Ejecta or RIFLE as it has been called began development back in 2020 when radar was identified as the right technology. The original concept employed absorption measurements instead of measurements of the speed of the signal but that had problems. Unfortunately there were problems with this approach; larger clouds would cause a weaker radar signal on measuring absorption, the cloud also caused problems acting like a lens to focus waves onto a receiver and affecting the measurements. The team then turned their attention upon interferometry instead.
The team found the results were far more accurate so worked upon the development of prototypes and a final working instrument. A funnel was used to create a thin curtain of dust of known concentration. They then used cameras with lights to cast shadows of the dust particles at high magnification. The dust concentrations were measured optically to enable the instrument to be calibrated for use. The team have now applied for a patent following the successful test phase.
Source : New instrument uses radar to measure what the eye can’t see
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Chinese company Deep Blue Aerospace plans to start launching space tourists in 2027
Watch sun erupt in 1st images from NOAA's groundbreaking new satellite (photos)
NASA Awards NOAA’s Solar Wind Plasma Sensors Contract
NASA has selected the University of New Hampshire in Durham to build Solar Wind Plasma Sensors for the Lagrange 1 Series project, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Next Program.
This cost-plus-no-fee contract is valued at approximately $24.3 million and includes the development of two sensors that will study the Sun’s constant outflow of solar wind. The data collected will support the nation’s efforts to better understand space weather around Earth and to provide warnings about impacts such as radio and GPS interruptions from solar storms.
The overall period of performance for this contract will be from Thursday, Oct. 24, and continue for a total of approximately nine years, concluding 15 months after the launch of the second instrument. The work will take place at the university’s facility in Durham, New Hampshire, and at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Johns Hopkins is the significant subcontractor.
Under this contract, the University of New Hampshire will be required to design, analyze, develop, fabricate, integrate, test, verify, and evaluate the sensors, support their launch, supply and maintain the instrument ground support equipment, and support post-launch mission operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland.
The Solar Wind Plasma Sensors will measure solar wind, a supersonic flow of hot plasma from the Sun, and provide data to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, which issues forecasts, warnings and alerts that help mitigate space weather impacts. The measurements will be used to characterize coronal mass ejections, corotating interaction regions, interplanetary shocks and high-speed flows associated with coronal holes. The measurements will also include observing the bulk ion velocity, ion temperature and density and derived dynamic pressure.
NASA and NOAA oversee the development, launch, testing, and operation of all the satellites in the L1 Series project. NOAA is the program owner that provides funds and manages the program, operations, and data products and dissemination to users. NASA and commercial partners develop, build, and launch the instruments and spacecraft on behalf of NOAA.
For information about NASA and agency programs, please visit:
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Jeremy Eggers
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
757-824-2958
jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.gov
Did Some of Earth’s Water Come from the Solar Wind?
The source of Earth’s water is an enduring mystery that extends to exoplanets and the notion of habitability. In broad terms, Earth’s water was either part of the planet from the beginning of its formation in the solar nebula or delivered later, maybe by asteroids and comets.
New research suggests that the Sun’s relentless solar wind could’ve played a role.
Scientists have worked hard to understand how Earth has so much life-giving water. There’s lots of research supporting the asteroid/comet delivery scenario. There’s also evidence that it accumulated water as it grew. During its accretion phase, it may have absorbed water-rich planetesimals.
To try to understand how Earth’s water fits into the history of the planet and the Solar System, researchers examine the isotope ratio on Earth and in meteorites. The isotopic composition of Earth’s water is most similar to primitive meteorites. On the other hand, it’s different from that of comets and nebular gas.
This implies that Earth’s water came from the same cosmochemical reservoir that is also the source of primitive meteorites.
It’s a complicated issue. Maybe Earth’s water has multiple sources. Maybe some of it was created in space long after Earth and the rest of the Solar System formed, and then delivered to Earth.
New research in The Astrophysical Journal explores how water can be created by the solar wind as it strikes surfaces holding oxygen-containing minerals. It’s titled “Stellar Wind Contribution to the Origin of Water on the Surface of Oxygen-containing Minerals.” The lead author is Svatolpuk Civiš from the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague.
The solar wind is a steady stream of charged particles—mostly protons and electrons—that come from the Sun. H+ ions, which are simply protons, are the most abundant particles in the solar wind. They make a big contribution to the solar wind’s properties. Could the wind trigger the creation of water molecules?
The researchers performed laboratory experiments to find out. They tested 14 oxygen-containing minerals. “To investigate the process of water formation on the surface of oxidic materials and water abundances, we used the technique of surface bombardment with hydrogen or deuterium atoms and ions,” the authors write in their paper.
The list of materials tested in the laboratory. Note that two of the samples are meteorites and that one of the samples, TiO2 P25 anatase, did not produce water in its discharge. Image Credit: Civiš et al. 2024.The experiments had two phases: the first tested whether the minerals would produce water when exposed to the solar wind, and the second tested their adsorption capacity. Separate from absorption, adsorption is the adhesion of a sample to a surface.
The team produced water and then measured it using two methods: a microwave (MW) discharge experiment and sputter gun irradiation. They tested the results with a type of spectrometry analysis called Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analysis.
“Both these experiments include a mineral sample bombarded by hydrogen/deuterium ions, which, among other possibilities, react with surface oxygens in the mineral lattice and form water molecules,” the authors write.
This figure illustrates the two types of laboratory tests. The left panel shows the MW discharge method and the right panel shows the Ion sputter gun method. Image Credit: Civiš et al. 2024.The oxide material samples were not only exposed to the strong current of H, H+ and molecular hydrogen that mimic the solar wind. They were also exposed to intense visible and UV radiation generated in the hydrogen discharge.
“The stellar wind irradiation of rocky oxygen-containing minerals results in a reaction between H+ ions and silicate minerals to produce water and OH, which could explain the presence of water in the regoliths of airless worlds such as the Moon, as well as the water abundances in asteroids,” the authors write.
Previous research has established that a chemical reaction occurs between hydrogen ions and silicate minerals when rocky materials are exposed to solar wind irradiation. Some researchers have observed the formation of OH (hydroxide) and water, while others have only found OH. This research goes deeper by testing the rocky materials for water adsorption.
The researchers tested the samples’ water adsorption capacity. Then, they calculated how much material would need to reach Earth to account for the amount of water on contemporary Earth.
“Besides material acquired by the Earth during accretion, the solar wind origin of water and its delivery to Earth could have gone on even during post-accretional bombardment,” the authors write. Here, they’re referring to the hypothetical Late Heavy Bombardment.
Previous research shows that ” asteroid and comet impacts during the classical Late Heavy Bombardment would bring in about ?1020 kg of material,” the authors write. “If that material’s surface was fully saturated with adsorbed water as composed of one of our minerals, our calculations suggest that at least one ocean equivalent of water could have been brought in.”
This schematic from the research shows how the solar wind can create water molecules on rocky bodies like asteroids. The water is adsorbed into a thin film and adheres to the asteroid. Eventually, some of this water is delivered to Earth by impacts. Image Credit: Civiš et al. 2024.There’s not much doubt about the results of these tests and the ability of the solar wind to create water.
“The results of the experiments summarized in this work, focused on surface bombardment with hydrogen atoms, clearly confirm the theory of the interaction of excited hydrogen or deuterium Rydberg atoms and ions with the surface oxygens of oxide minerals,” the authors explain. “Our experiments attempt to explain the origin of water in the areas of oxygen-containing solid material (e.g., dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets) exposed to a stream of charged particles close to a parent star.”
Earth’s atmosphere and magnetosphere shield it from the solar wind, so there’s no way the wind could’ve created water right on Earth’s surface. However, as the study shows, the wind can create water on the surface of other bodies like asteroids, and the water can be adsorbed and held firm, then delivered to Earth via impacts.
“This scenario is also applicable to the origin of water on Earth,” the authors write. “Due to this effect, a water molecule can be adsorbed on the surface of oxygen-containing particles and then transported over long distances and times,” the researchers write.
This study won’t be the end of the ongoing effort to account for Earth’s water. In a fascinating roundabout way, this research brings us back to asteroids and meteorites delivering Earth’s water. If it can happen here, it can happen on exoplanets elsewhere in the galaxy.
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An Orange Blue Moon
An Orange Blue Moon
Clouds curling around the full “blue” moon gives the night sky an eerie feel in this image from Aug. 19, 2024. As seen here, a blue moon is not actually blue; the third full moon in a season with four full Moons is called a “blue” moon.
Another moon will be visible in the sky the morning of Oct. 25: Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, the destination of NASA’s recently launched Europa Clipper, will be easily observable with binoculars on one side of Jupiter by itself.
Image credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Ion Engines Could Take Us to the Solar Gravitational Lens in Less Than 13 Years
Sending an object to another star is still the stuff of science fiction. But some concrete missions could get us at least part way there. These “interstellar precursor missions” include a trip to the Solar Gravitational Lens point at 550 AU from the Sun – farther than any artificial object has ever been, including Voyager. To get there, we’ll need plenty of new technologies, and a recent paper presented at the 75th International Astronautical Congress in Milan this month looks at one of those potential technologies – electric propulsion systems, otherwise known as ion drives.
The paper aimed to assess when any existing ion drive technology could port a large payload on one of several trajectories, including a trip around Jupiter, one visiting Pluto, and even one reaching that fabled Solar Gravitational Lens. To do so, they specified an “ideal” ion drive with characteristics that enabled optimal values for some of the system’s physical characteristics.
First among those characteristics is the power plant. Ion thrusters need a power source and an effective one if they will last more than a decade under thrust. The paper defined an ideal power plan that can output 1 kW per kg of weight. This is currently well outside the realm of possibility, with the best ion thruster power sources coming at something like 10 W per kg and even nuclear electric propulsion systems outputing 100 W per kg. Some potentially better technologies are on the horizon, but nothing tested in the literature would meet this requirement yet.
Fraser discusses the concept of the solar gravitational lens with Dr. Slava TuryshevThrust efficiency is another consideration for this idealized mission. The authors, who are writing under the banner of the Initiative for Interstellar Studies, a non-profit group based out of the UK, suggested that an idealized thrust efficiency is 97%. That would also significantly improve existing technologies, which average closer to 75-80% efficiency for working models. Additional improvements could increase this number, such as magnetic containment fields around the thruster’s walls. Still, as it gets closer to that 97% range, finding efficiency improvements becomes harder and harder.
The last characteristic the authors considered was the specific impulse. This one has the most comprehensive variability regarding the theoretical potential of all three systems. Their idealized value of 34,000-76,000 seconds of specific impulse is well within the bounds of the potential values for more speculative technologies. The paper mentions that specific impulse values twice the suggested upper range could be possible with the proper selection of thruster and propellant. They also point out that development on these technologies is stalled not because we can’t make drives with better specific impulse but because we can’t produce power plants that support them yet. So, solving the power plant issue will enable further development in this area.
Fraser discusses the details of ion engines and why they’re so efficient.Suppose all three characteristics were combined into a complete functional propulsion system. In that case, the authors calculate that it could deliver a payload of almost 18,000 kg to the Solar Gravitational Lens in just 13 years – much faster than any previous mission would be capable of. But that optimization is still a long way off, and while there are missions planned for deployment to the SGL someday, it is still a long way off before they launch and even longer before they arrive there. In the meantime, engineers have some additional problems to solve if they want to optimize the potential of ion thrusters.
Learn More:
N Maraqten, D Fries, A Genovese – Advanced Electric Propulsion Systems with Optimal Specific Impulses for Fast Interstellar Precursor Missions
UT – Next Generation Ion Engines Will Be Extremely Powerful
UT – Ion Engines Could Work on Earth too, to Make Silent, Solid-State Aircraft
UT – The Most Powerful Ion Engine Ever Built Passes the Test
Lead Image:
Ion Thruster
Credit – NASA
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