I’ve always dreamed of going to another planet.
Ever since I was little, the idea of humanity exploring exoplanets has been something I, along with so many others, have really wanted to see become a reality. One of the largest problems we face in making our sci-fi dreams come true is time: more specifically, we don’t live long enough to make the trip with the propulsion technology we have. It’s been clear that one of those factors had to change, and my money has always been on the latter rather than the former. That might be what has happened with Nasa’s EM Drive.
(The “Live Forever” department’s tests haven’t been nearly as successful)
The drive relies on solar energy instead of a propellant and is able to generate thrust seemingly out of nowhere through the use of a magnetron (which I’m linking for those of you who are physics-oriented, since I’m not and can’t explain it well). There was skepticism after tests in 2014 about the unaccounted thrust being generated, but NASA recently tested the drive again in a vacuum and the thrust was still there, even though it was a small amount. When magnified to the size of a spaceship, the amount of thrust generated that seems to defy Newton’s law of conservation of momentum can send us through space without using any fuel.
(<<T H E F U T U R E>>)
The implications for this drive are gigantic: it’s estimated that manned trips would reach the Moon in only 4 hours, Mars in 70 days, and Pluto in 18 months. To put that in perspective, the unmanned spacecraft that just took images of Pluto this year took nearly a decade to reach the body, and we could theoretically do so in a year and a half. Moreover, it would only take roughly 100 years to reach Alpha Centauri, a trip that would take 10,000+ years with our current technology.
(The welcoming committee, probably)
If the drive were to function successfully on the scale of a spacecraft, it only speeds along our current plans to explore the solar system. You may have heard of the commercial attempt to reach Mars and create a reality show, known as Mars One. There are already members of the crew who are talking about the possibilities of reproducing on Mars and colonizing. Being able to make the trip in less than 1/3 of a year would mean great things for travel between the planets. NASA has been planning a progression toward manned trips to Mars, creating new spacesuit designs and projecting humans on Mars by the 2030s. In addition, earlier this year MIT created a device known as MOXIE that would slowly terra-form Mars’ atmosphere to create breathable oxygen. Not only that, MOXIE would also create liquid oxygen that could serve as potential fuel for a return flight. Of course, if the EM Drive were a success, we wouldn’t need that fuel in the first place.
(“Just going to the store, Mom”)
It seems we’re hitting a time of discovery that all points toward human colonization of Mars, and maybe even beyond. Before the midway point of the century, humanity could be inhabiting other planets. Less than 100 years after we first landed on the Moon. If technology is progressing this fast, imagine where we’ll be by the end of the century. Before 2100, we could easily have kids who don’t have to dream about exploring other planets – because they were born on them.
SOCIDEAS 