Antiproton-based propulsion concepts and the potential impact on a manned Mars mission

Abstract

Within the next few decades, the ability to produce, accumulate, and capture large quantities of antiprotons should become feasible. The technology currently under development at the Los Alamos National Laboratory may potentially allow stable high-density storage techniques to be developed. Given a sufficient source of antiprotons, development of a solid-core engine with an 7sp of about 1000 s appears feasible. The impact of such an engine on a manned mission to Mars is estimated. A comparison to chemical and direct nuclear propulsion system mission capabilities is also shown. In addition, other high 7sp propulsion systems using antiprotons as an energy source are examined. A. A,