14. When already in space, what form of transportation would we use to travel to different places in space? (A K2S Question)
From The Space Library
Revision as of 17:47, 11 June 2014
At first, we likely will use ion propulsion. This is a type of rocket that expels a gas at very high speed—four or five times faster than a typical rocket. Ion propulsion is very efficient per gallon of fuel, but not very strong. It's like using the highest gear on a bicycle—if you are on level ground, you can get going very fast, but you cannot pedal up a steep hill in high gear. Launching from the Earth's surface is like going up a steep hill. Once you are in orbit, even a small push can move you forward. If you can keep that small push going for several weeks or months, you can really build up speed to reach Mars in a few weeks instead of six to eight months.
Answer provided by David Gump & Gary Hudson
Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer
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