It ends years of reliance on chemical rockets and sets new limits for space dreams.
Mars 

A revolutionary engine is changing the game in space exploration... reaching Mars in just 30 days.

Russian scientists at the Troitsk Institute are testing a propulsion system, a prototype plasma-powered rocket engine for deep space exploration. This is not a traditional chemical rocket; instead, it uses plasma, accelerated by electromagnetic fields, to generate continuous thrust.

The Russian state nuclear company Rosatom is developing this engine, which could reduce the time of interplanetary travel from several months to less than a month, according to the Wio News website, as reported by Al Arabiya Business.

Plasma rockets differ fundamentally from traditional chemical rockets. For centuries, space exploration relied on chemical rockets. Chemical rockets fill a fuel tank and burn it to propel the rocket upwards.

This method is destructive, relying on brute force rather than efficiency, and is a product of necessity, not imagination. Each rocket consumes an enormous amount of energy. This system also has its drawbacks, such as the high fuel consumption during extended missions.

On the other hand, plasma rockets are highly fuel-efficient, as they rely on electromagnetic fields to accelerate charged hydrogen molecules, reducing their fuel consumption to less than a tenth of the original amount.

This field has attracted increasing attention from scientists. Unlike chemical rockets, plasma rockets generate significantly less thrust, but they are capable of longer flight times, gradually gaining speed that allows them to remain airborne for extended periods. If the Russian system were to reach greater distances, it would have profound implications for space exploration.

Plasma rockets require an internal nuclear reactor to provide a continuous supply of power, and hydrogen is expected to be abundant in space, making it useful for refueling spacecraft.

What are the Russian media claiming about the plasma engine?

The prototype engine is currently undergoing testing inside a 14-meter-long vacuum chamber designed to simulate space conditions. According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, the 300-kilowatt engine operates on a cyclic pulse system and has demonstrated a lifespan of up to 2,400 hours, sufficient for a mission to Mars, including both acceleration and deceleration phases.

The researchers claim that the engine accelerates charged hydrogen particles, including protons and electrons, to speeds of up to 100 kilometers per second, compared to the exhaust speeds of 4.5 kilometers per second for conventional rockets.

However, plasma engines already exist on several satellites in orbit, including systems on the OneWeb spacecraft and NASA's Psyche mission, launched in 2023. The exhaust velocity of most of these engines ranges between 30 and 50 kilometers per second. The Russian claim of reaching 100 kilometers per second represents a significant step forward.