Artist's impression of a proposed spaceship for visiting Mars. The spaceship is propelled by an ion-drive motor,itself powered by a small nuclear reactor. The reactor generates electricity which is used to ionise and accelerate xenon gas atoms. The ion stream can be generated for long periods,providing more propulsion for inter-planetary flight than conventional fuels. A Mars landing vehicle is seen at the far right end of the spacecraft,docked to the crew module. Current US plans call for a manned flight to Mars in 2015,using the Moon as a staging-post | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / US Department of Energy |
Taille de l’image : | 3628 px × 2948 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |