May the fourth—and a souped-up ion drive—be with you

Examining NASA’s deep space propulsion plans on Star Wars Day

As any Star Wars superfan knows, the Millennium Falcon can do “.5 past light speed,” in the immortal words of Han Solo.

I mean, making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs? Hello?

But seriously, right here on the third rock from the sun, NASA is examining various technologies for deep-space propulsion.

And what better time than Star Wars Day to bring them up?

NASA has already announced its development strategy to power spacecraft to the outer reaches of our solar system. From feasible to fantastical, they include:

Ion drives, which charge molecules of an unreactive fuel;
Solar sails, which would pick up particles of light to gain thrust;
Plasma propulsion engines, using electromagnetism to accelerate ions in plasma; and
Antimatter, which has the highest energy density of any known substance (unfortunately, there aren’t that many antimatter service stations around the Milky Way).

Oh, and by the way . . . we’re told there are eight sci-fi ships faster than the Millennium Falcon. Check it out for yourself.

BC Ferries’ three-vessel Salish Class to begin service in 2017.

Despite their name, rare earth elements are not especially rare. But is demand outpacing supply?

In the world's conversation about energy, one point is beyond debate: Energy makes a vital contribution to people's quality of life, to society and to human progress. This is true today, and it will remain true in the future. That's why Energy Matters was created. We believe it's important to equip people with unbiased information so they may form opinions, join the conversation and feel confidence in the work and accomplishments of the energy sector. Energy Matters is an initiative that provides transparent information and perspective on energy. Here, we'll cover a range of topics: the scale of global energy; the ways energy is sourced and produced; current energy technology; forthcoming innovations; the world's future energy needs; and the sustainable sources of energy that will fill them. Because energy matters to everyone, we hope you'll rely on Energy Matters as an ongoing source of balanced information.