[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6350\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EElectric deep-space engines could bring humankind to Mars\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow European researchers are addressing these problems by developing faster engines, solar forecasts and better shielding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the European Space Agency (ESA), radiation levels are up to 15 times higher in space than on earth, so for astronauts to avoid excessive exposure while travelling to Mars, they will need to get there as fast as possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It would take six months with classic chemical propulsion (hydrogen and oxygen fuel),\u2019 said Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Masson from France\u2019s National Centre for Space. \u2018Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) can get to Mars faster than other methods, if the reactor is powerful enough.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENEP works by changing nuclear thermal energy into electrical energy which then powers a propulsion system. It is one of the most promising technologies for space exploration as it\u2019s cost-effective and has a much greater fuel-efficiency than classic chemical propulsion meaning there is no need to carry large amounts of rocket fuel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever using NEP to get to Mars is some way off, as the technology is still at an early stage. Masson is working on the EU-funded DEMOCRITOS project that aims to improve the scientific understanding of NEP propulsion so that a demonstrator can be developed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe says that using nuclear energy to power spacecraft is safe because the reactor would be contained in a protective shell. This would most likely be made from graphite as it\u2019s mechanically strong and able to withstand high temperatures.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThank to its fuel-efficiency, the lower weight-to-capacity ratio of an NEP-powered spacecraft means there would also be more room available for scientific instruments and plants that provide a food source for the astronauts, even compared to other emerging alternatives such as solar cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt would also help to address a major challenge in a crewed mission to Mars \u2013 getting home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPropulsion\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScientists are still working out how to ensure a spacecraft has enough chemical propulsion to get back into space from the planet\u2019s surface. Some solutions are to send the fuel separately or to generate it on Mars, but the most secure option is to bring the return propellant with you, which an NEP spacecraft can do.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is more efficient and safer to send people to Mars with one spacecraft,\u2019 said Masson. \u2018You can make our [NEP] designs bigger and more powerful very easily, there is no change in the technology.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile DEMOCRITOS is not working on developing the technology to such an extent that it could be used for a manned mission to Mars, project coordinator Dr Emmanouil Detsis from the European Science Foundation says the technology could offer capabilities for other missions.\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Nuclear Electric Propulsion can get to Mars faster than other methods, if the reactor is powerful enough.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EFr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Masson, National Centre for Space, France\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018NEP is really the only viable method that can deliver a heavy spacecraft to the outer moons of Jupiter.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Frank Jansen, senior scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) who is also working on DEMOCRITOS, agrees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The project is a technology study for different missions. If we realise this project in the 2030s, or earlier, this will be comparable to the Apollo missions or the ISS.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven with faster engines, however, extended radiation exposure would remain a critical threat to astronauts\u2019 health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Solar energetic particles are the biggest headache to any manned mission to anywhere,\u2019 said Professor Ioannis A. Daglis, a space radiation expert from the University of Athens, Greece.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESolar energetic particles are surges of intense particle radiation that come from sudden eruptions, or solar flares, on the sun\u0027s surface. They race through space with such speed that astronauts caught in their path would have little chance of escaping unharmed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We need to be able to forecast solar flare occurrence and the propagation of solar energetic particles in interplanetary space so we can estimate the levels of radiation,\u2019 said Prof. Daglis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESolar minimum\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne solution is to send a human mission during \u2018solar minimum\u2019, which is the time during the sun\u0027s 11-year activity cycle where solar flares are less frequent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I would expect a manned mission to Mars a few years after the next solar maximum, sometime around 2030,\u2019 said Prof. Daglis, who was also the project coordinator of MAARBLE, an EU-funded project which modelled the earth\u2019s radiation belts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERadiation belts are the regions of enhanced particle radiation surrounding certain planets, like earth and Jupiter, where energetic, charged particles accumulate under the influence of the planet\u0027s magnetic field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Our detailed knowledge of the belt structure and dynamics ... helps us find the best path and the best time to pass through it safely. This has been done for the Apollo missions and would also be done for other interplanetary missions,\u2019 said Prof. Daglis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA crewed mission to Mars would likely travel through the safest path in earth\u2019s radiation belts during a time of \u2018solar minimum\u2019, but even so, the risk of solar energetic particles would still be there.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are several ongoing efforts, but we are not yet in a position to predict solar flares,\u2019 said Prof. Daglis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEntry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAvoiding a solar flare by the time a mission reaches Mars would come as a huge relief, but the astronauts wouldn\u2019t celebrate just yet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA spacecraft enters an atmosphere at such high speeds that it creates a \u2018bow shock\u2019, a curved, stationary shock wave that can heat gases close to 10\u0026nbsp;000 Celsius, causing a dangerous amount of degradation of its wall material or heat shields.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere would also be effects specific to Mars. Dr Thierry Magin leads the AEROSPACEPHYS project, funded by the EU\u0027s European Research Council, which ran simulations of planetary atmosphere entries to determine the needs of a spacecraft\u2019s heatshield.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018During entry to the Martian atmosphere, you would create carbon monoxide which is known as being a strong radiator,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt Belgium\u2019s von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Dr Magin is helping organisations such as ESA to develop heat shields to protect spacecraft from the immense heat, by creating a test environment that mimics the entry conditions for different planetary atmospheres.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is extremely difficult to account for all these atmospheric entry phenomena so what we did was partly reproduce them in our ground facilities,\u2019 said Dr Magin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis includes a plasmatron, a machine that can recreate the heat conditions for different planets, which vary because of the differing atmospheric gases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ciframe src=\u0022https:\/\/europa.eu\/webtools\/crs\/iframe\/?oriurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FItvU2g1Z5zY\u0022 frameborder=\u00220\u0022 width=\u0022560\u0022 height=\u0022315\u0022\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDr Magin combines data from the plasmatron with results from the \u2018Longshot\u2019 wind tunnel, which tests the aerodynamic forces when entering a planet\u2019s atmosphere.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESurprisingly, one of the most promising materials for a Martian heat shield is cork. \u2018We study the description of trees in California after forest fires because essentially the structure of the bark is very similar to the heat shield of a spacecraft,\u2019 said Dr Magin. \u2018Together with NASA we are now applying our simulation tools to study spacecrafts.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\n \n\n\n\u003Col class=\u0022ecl-timeline\u0022data-ecl-auto-init=\u0022Timeline\u0022 data-ecl-timeline\u003E\u003Cli\n class=\u0022ecl-timeline__item\u0022\n \u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__tooltip\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__tooltip-arrow\u0022\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__label\u0022\u003EFar future\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__title\u0022\u003EEngineers build a warp-drive spacecraft\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__content\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough its implementation is a long way off, NASA engineers are already working on a prototype warp drive spacecraft. Thanks to a loophole in the theory of relativity, NASA is designing the ICS Enterprise, which has technology that makes it capable of expanding space-time behind it and contracting space-time in front of it, allowing the ship to travel faster than the speed of light. Another high-speed booster under investigation is photonic propulsion technology, where light particles are used to gradually accelerate a spacecraft.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/startrek.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-m3afxhpdx7l-bblwibclfqtrlubdpacpsxn-gxr6upc\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-M3afXHpdX7l-BblwiBCLfqTRLuBdpaCpSxN-GxR6UPc\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]