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"Steam" spacecraft with an infinite supply of fuel will "jump" between asteroids
Using water vapor to move a spacecraft from one asteroid to another is now possible thanks to a joint project between a private aerospace company and the University of Central Florida (UCF), USA.
UCF planetary scientist Phil Metzger worked with Pasadena, California-based Honeybee Robotics to develop a prototype spacecraft called World Is Not Enough, or WINE, which is able to extract water from asteroids and other planetary bodies to generate steam from this water, allowing the device to travel through space towards the next asteroid
UCF provided simulated asteroid material, and Metzger built the computer model and performed the calculations needed to prototype the device by Honeybee. The company also teamed up with Embry Riddle University of Aeronautics, Florida, USA, to develop primary prototypes of steam powered rocket engines.
“It's just incredible! Metzger said about this demonstration. - The WINE device successfully extracted water from the ground, made a working fluid for the engine from it and started with a jet of water vapor. Now we can use this technology to jump on the surface of the Moon, Ceres, Europa, Titan, Pluto and in the vicinity of the poles of Mercury, as well as from one asteroid to another - that is, wherever there is water and a relatively low level of gravity is provided.
The WINE device, the size of which is comparable to the size of a kitchen microwave oven, extracts water from the surface of a celestial body, then turns it into steam and, under the action of an impulse given to the device by the ejected jet of steam, moves to a new location, where this cycle repeats. Therefore, such a rocket will never be left without fuel and theoretically can explore space "indefinitely". The device receives energy for operations using deployable solar panels or a radioisotope generator, the inventor explained.
The WINE project team is currently looking for partners to continue developing this small spacecraft.