Fusion Powered Rockets May be Key to Exploring Deep Space
John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, stated that fusion-powered rockets would slash deep space travel times drastically in the future. Speeding up trips will both minimize radiation exposure and save money on consumables like food and water. From the article:
NASA has funded several early-stage fusion ideas recently via a program called NIAC (NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts). One of these groups, led by scientists at the University of Washington, recently calculated that a fusion rocket could make it possible to get astronauts to Mars in as little as 30 days.
Fusion rockets likely won’t be powering a spacecraft anytime soon, however. Researchers still haven’t developed a fusion reactor here on Earth that generates more energy than it takes in, after all, despite billions of dollars devoted to the effort over several decades. But studying how to make fusion work for spacecraft engines could help chip away at the problem, Grunsfeld said. “That could accelerate the research for fusion reactors here on Earth,” he said.
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