Researchers at NASA's Eagleworks advanced-propulsion lab have been working on a technology that can theoretically bring humans to Mars in just 70 days.

Technology Can Theoretically Make Space Flights Cheaper, More Efficient

The rocket propulsion engine known as EmDrive is supposed to generate thrust by bouncing microwaves inside a cone-shaped chamber without any propellant. It was originally developed by British scientist Roger Shawyer in the early 2000s.

As the engine does not require any fuel, the technology can theoretically make spaceflight cheaper and far more efficient. It can significantly make deep space missions, particularly manned missions, to the Red Planet more doable.

Physics-Defying Rocket Propulsion Engine

Newton's third law of motion says that every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. Conventional propulsion rockets expel superheated gas and other materials through nozzles at high speed. EmDrive, however, does not have an exhaust to expel as the opposing reaction, which defies the laws of physics.

Anomalous Thrust

Last year, NASA reported in a peer-reviewed scientific paper that they tested the EmDrive and were able to measure some thrust. Nonetheless, not everyone is convinced. Some remained skeptical prompting a group of researchers from the Technical University at Dresden in Germany to repeat the experiment. The new experiment was done in a vacuum and everything was automated.

"I consider the EMDrive as an experimental claim - and we are assessing if it works or not," said lead researcher of the study Martin Tajmar, from TU Dresden.

The researchers noticed the same effect was observed in the earlier experiments. They were able to measure thrust, albeit it did not appear to come from the engine itself.

Thrust Possibly From Earth's Magnetic Field

The researchers observed that there was thrust regardless of which direction the engine was pointing. This suggests that it comes from a secondary source, possibly magnetism from Earth. The researchers also noticed that the force produced was more than what is expected and they were not able to get the thruster to work in reverse.

"Special attention is given to the investigation and identification of error sources that cause false thrust signals," Tajmar and colleagues reported. "Our results show that the magnetic interaction from not sufficiently shielded cables or thrusters are a major factor that needs to be taken into account for proper µN thrust measurements."

The results of the experiment were presented at the 2018 Space Propulsion conference held in Spain.