Methane to power space missions to Mars, Moon in future

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If reports are to be believed, space scientists are devising a strategy to develop new next-generation rocket engines that will help them to transport mass to Mars as well as Moon.

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has been awarded a 5 million dollars grant from NASA to develop rocket engines using liquid methane. The methane-based rocket technology would be used for in-space propulsion and ascent and descent engines for Mars and lunar landers.

Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Ahsan Choudhuri

Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Ahsan Choudhuri has recently said that liquid methane, a new form of green propellant, was a promising fuel for spaceships.

This research would be led by UTEP’s NASA-funded Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research (CSETR).

The development of methane rocket engines had been identified as a critically enabling technology in the NASA Space Technology Roadmap.

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