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The concept of focused energy isn't new.

A spaceship is propelled into deep space using laser beams.

The higher the laser's power, the quicker the spaceship can accelerate.

WHY IN NEWS 

The competition for space travel is heating up at a breakneck rate. Commercial projects have been launched by private firms, and the United States and China had set their sights on putting people on Mars within the next decade. While this goal is admirable, it is fraught with technological and practical difficulties. A trip to Mars, for example, can only be conducted approximately in each 26 months, whenever Earth and Mars are nearest to each other. Even then, current technology would require 9 months to get to Mars from Earth. As a result, bold ideas to change space travel are required. A team of McGill University academics in Montreal, Canada, has devised a revolutionary solution. They claim that if the spaceship adopts their proposed propulsion technology, the Earth-Mars trip time may be lowered to just 45 days, drastically speeding up Mars research. The researchers are evaluating the feasibility of a laser-thermal rocket engine, in which laser beams are used to heat hydrogen fuel. The concept of focused energy isn't new.

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Directed-energy transportation has been the focus of a lot of study in recent years. A spaceship is propelled into deep space using laser beams. The higher the laser's power, the quicker the spaceship can accelerate. The system also suggests that the rest of the vehicle be returned to Earth. The researchers propose that enormous lasers be fired from Earth to power the spacecraft's solar panels. This would create power, which would propel the ship forward. The study, entitled 'Design of a quick transit to Mars expedition employing laser-thermal propulsion,' was published in the magazine Astronomy & Astrophysics. It's accessible on arXiv as a preprint. Emmanuel Duplay, a McGill student and MSc Aerospace Engineering graduate at TU Delft, conducted the study. If realised, this concept will address two major logistical and physiological concerns for Mars travel. Long-term radiation exposure and microgravity while in deep space poses health risks.