Why go to Manali when you can reach Mars in 3 days!

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A new Photonic Propulsion system touted by NASA scientists can allow a spacecraft to land on Mars in just three days!Surprised  A good excuse to ditch all the weekend 'hill-station' getaways and visit the Red planet instead!


Shake off the current estimation that humans take around five months to reach the Red Planet. A new research claims that the voyage can be wrapped up in just 3 days.
NASA scientists are now working on a new laser technology which has the potential to land a craft in three days.

Wondering how?
The new system is called photonic propulsion. This system will employ lasers to propel a giant sail. It will rely on the principle of momentum of photons (particles of light). But in this case the photons will not come from the Sun's ray, it will emanate from the energy of Earth-based lasers, reports ScienceAlert. 
NASA scientist Philip Lubin, of the University of California Santa Barbara, made this unique proposition in a video for 'NASA 360'.
Does this idea sound far-fetched to you?
In paper that he wrote last year, titled A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight, Philip Lubin defends that this technology is readily available and the mechanism can also be easily tweaked.
He explains, "There is no known reason why we can't do this. The system is completely scalable modularly, built to any size you want from a tiny one to a gigantic one."

So, how exactly does photonic propulsion decrease the time of travel?
Normal spacecrafts are launched with the help of burning chemicals like rocket fuel. The problem with this source is that it weighs down the spacecraft and also sets a speed limit.
In comparison to this  electromagnetic source which uses light is a better alternative. However even this proved inefficient because it requires expensive equipments and is not scalable for space travel.
Now, Photonic propulsion works regardless of scale, it has both aspects of energy and momentum working in its favour.
A report in ScienceAlert explains, 'when particles of light reflect off an object, that momentum is transferred into a little push'. Along with this a large sail will help in gradual acceleration of the space craft.
In Philip Lubin's opinion, photonic propulsion has the potential to get a 100-kg robotic craft to Mars in just 3 days.  

What are you waiting for? Start planning your trip to Mars! Now! Wink
 














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