Search Here

Gone are the days when a flight took as long as 23 days! Today, we can reach Mars sooner than that, welcome the laser technology.

Philip Lubin, a scientist from NASA proclaims that by switching the fuel-based rocket propulsion with the one that relies on photons would improve your space travel speeds significantly, as reported by Newsweek.

According to Science Alert, light particles from lasers in the orbit of Earth would mirror off a "large, reflective sail" and create a thrust that can send the rocket towards its destination at a considerable speed. Lubin says that a 220-pound probe would be able to reach Mars in about 72 hours if thus technology is used, says Wired. Experts who are developing a space launch system that will transport humans into Mars will take at least 5 months to reach its destination.

As per Space.com, "photonic propulsion" will not only take the spacecraft at much higher speeds, it also makes it possible to venture outside the solar system.

"The human factor of exploring the nearest stars and exoplanets would be a profound voyage for humanity, one whose non-scientific implications would be enormous," Lubin writes in a study. "There are recent advances that take this from science fiction to science reality," he adds in a YouTube video. "There is no known reason why we cannot do this."