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Advanced Space Propulsion Tech - Contenido educativo

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Subido el 28 de mayo de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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Fourth segment of Rocket to the Stars describes a new rocket propulsion technology called Variable Specific Impluse Magnetoplasma Rocket or VASIMR for short.

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Thanks, Anita. Sounds pretty cool. You know, NASA is working on another propulsion technology. 00:00:00

It's called VASIMR. Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz can tell us more about that technology. 00:00:09

Thank you. My name is Franklin Chang-Diaz. I'm an astronaut and director of the Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory. 00:00:17

I would like to share with you another possible advanced space propulsion technology that we've been working on for many years. 00:00:25

It is called the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, or VASIMR for short. 00:00:32

This new engine would allow for much faster space travel than what we can do today. 00:00:39

VASIMR is a plasma-based propulsion system. 00:00:44

Do you remember the four states of matter? They are solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. 00:00:48

You can go from one state to the other by adding or subtracting heat from the material. 00:00:56

Take water, for example. Its solid state is ice. Add heat and you get liquid. Add more heat and you get gas or vapor. 00:01:03

If you add even more heat to the gas, the atoms in it get torn or broken. 00:01:13

Remember, each atom is sort of like an egg. It has a central nucleus, the yolk, with positive particles in it called protons, 00:01:20

and a blanket, the white, of negative charged particles called electrons in it. 00:01:30

When the atom gets torn, these charges are free to roam around every which way. Scrambled eggs. 00:01:37

Such a mixture of charged particles is called plasma. 00:01:46

Plasmas are very hot, with temperatures of hundreds of thousands to millions of degrees. 00:01:51

The sun and the stars are made of plasma. 00:01:59

Plasmas are very good conductors of electricity and they respond very well to electric and magnetic fields. 00:02:03

We use these properties to heat them and also to confine them and use their extreme heat to produce awesome rocket propulsion. 00:02:11

Electric fields heat the plasma and speed it up. 00:02:22

Magnetic fields direct the plasma in the right direction as it is pushed out of the engine. 00:02:26

This creates thrust for the spacecraft. 00:02:33

Possible fuels for the VASIMR engine could include hydrogen, deuterium, helium, nitrogen, and others. 00:02:36

The use of hydrogen as a fuel for the project would also have other benefits. 00:02:46

Hydrogen can be found all throughout space. 00:02:53

This means we are likely to find plentiful supplies of fuel everywhere we go, 00:02:57

and we could refuel the spacecraft for the return trip to Earth. 00:03:03

Also, strong magnetic fields and liquid hydrogen make for great radiation shields. 00:03:08

This means the hydrogen fuel for the VASIMR engine, as well as the magnet technology we are developing for it, 00:03:15

could both also be used to protect the astronaut crew from dangerous radiation exposure during the flight. 00:03:24

This is how technology developed for one thing can also be used for another equally important purpose. 00:03:32

To heat and accelerate the plasma in deep space flights, VASIMR will use electricity from nuclear power. 00:03:41

VASIMR is still years away from transporting humans and cargo to Mars and beyond. 00:03:51

Remember the scenario that Jennifer gave you at the beginning of the program. 00:03:59

Our team can only take this advanced technology so far. 00:04:04

And then it will be up to you. 00:04:09

Your generation will make this space propulsion system a reality. 00:04:11

Some of you may one day fly on it and become the astronauts that will build the first base on Mars. 00:04:17

I've been in space seven times. 00:04:25

But you will be the astronauts who will get a chance to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. 00:04:28

You are the next generation of explorers. 00:04:35

So, good luck. 00:04:38

Back to you, Jennifer. 00:04:40

My thanks to Dr. Chang Diaz. 00:04:44

You know, I can't wait for the day when we receive the first transmission from people on Mars. 00:04:46

And maybe you'll be one of them. 00:04:52

Well, that wraps up another episode of NASA Connect. 00:04:55

We'd like to thank everyone who helped make this program possible. 00:04:58

Got a comment, question, or suggestion? 00:05:02

Well, email them to connect at lark.nasa.gov. 00:05:04

And don't forget to check out this program's student challenge. 00:05:10

You can find it on the NASA Connect website. 00:05:14

So until next time, stay connected to math, science, technology, and NASA. 00:05:17

And maybe we'll see you on Mars. 00:05:24

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Materias:

Matemáticas

Niveles educativos:

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Autor/es:

NASA LaRC Office of Education

Subido por:

EducaMadrid

Licencia:

Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada

Visualizaciones:

593

Fecha:

28 de mayo de 2007 - 16:54

Visibilidad:

Público

Enlace Relacionado:

NASAs center for distance learning

Duración:

05′ 27″

Relación de aspecto:

4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.

Resolución: