An endless spacecraft propulsion system based on the harvesting of metals from comets and moons is being tested by a team at the University of Southampton.
The majority of rocket propulsion systems in use today for spacecraft that have emerged from Earth’s atmosphere rely on rare gas phase fuels like krypton and xenon, which are easy to obtain on Earth but challenging to obtain in space.
However, principal scientist Dr. Minkwan Kim told News that employing metals that a spacecraft could gather along the way “opens a new way to explore planets and space.”
According to Dr. Kim, who designed a plasma thruster for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that was launched last year, the new thrusters have the ability to burn metals that are quite common in space, such as iron, aluminum, and copper.
He continued, “That gives us a new strategy to travel through deep space.”
Future deep space missions should be built around it, we hope,” Dr. Kim stated. “This is only the start. We’re not sure how far technology can advance or how far we can change.”
He went on, “The system could enable never-ending discovery by assisting us in visiting new planets, looking for new life, and venturing where no human has gone before.
