Earth To Mars In Just 30-60 Days: Russia Working On New Plasma Rocket Engine To Make This Possible

Moscow: In what could come as a giant leap in spacecraft technology, Russia is working on a new plasma-based rocket engine system which might cut travel time to Mars from existing 7 months to just one or two months. The distance between earth and mars is not fixed and it keeps changing depending on their respective orbits and position with respect to sun.

According to reports, the plasma-based rocket will use magnetic force to gain the unimaginable acceleration that would be coupled with super charged hydrogen particles to achieve speed upto 100 kms per second.

Reports say that Russia is currently extensively testing a laboratory prototype in a specialised space-simulator chamber. The new plasma rocket engine flight may become operational by 2030.

How much time does it really take to travel between earth and mars

It may take anywhere between 7 months to 3 years to travel from earth to mars, because it’s not just about the distance between the two planets but time varies due to their orbits. Also, the journey time would depend on the propulsion, means which method is being used to power the engines.

However, another technology called the photon propulsion system could cut travel time to mars magically and drastically to just three days.

The photon propulsion technology, which will use superpower laser to accelerate the spacecraft, could reach very near to the speed of light and is currently under development.

The distance between earth and mars is 140 million miles — 225 million kilometres. Once again, the distance may vary depending on their orbits.

When Mars is in closest proximity to earth, the distance between the two planets is reduced to 56 million kilometres while it can go upto 401 million kilometres when the two planets are at the farthest distance from earth other.  

SpaceX announces first uncrewed mission to Mars 

Last year in September, SpaceX announced that it will launch its first uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said.

Elon Musk stated that these will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. He added that if those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in four years.

Taking to X, Elon Musk stated, "The first Starships to Mars will launch in 2 years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars.

"If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years. Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years. Being multiplanetary will vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness, as we will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet," he added.

With inputs from ANI