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Breakthrough cryocooler makes crewed Mars missions possible
NASA has tested a kind of super-fridge that may hold the key to any future crewed mission to Mars. Without the new cryogenic cooler, a ship to Mars would reach the Red Planet with empty fuel tanks, which would ruin everyone's day.
The point of this is that robotic probes weigh comparatively little and can take years or even decades to reach their destination, so thrust and speed aren't big factors. At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, engineers installed what's called a two-stage cooling system on a test stand for a three-month trial. That not only means avoiding the embarrassment of showing up at Mars without a ride home, but the ability to do without unneeded fuel surplus and to plan longer duration missions.
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