Can Beamed Propulsion be a Viable Method to Reach Pluto?

AI Thread Summary
Beamed propulsion is being explored as a potential method to reach Pluto, particularly in light of the intriguing findings from the New Horizons mission. Solar power diminishes significantly at 31 AU, making traditional solar energy collection impractical for deep space missions. While using parabolic mirrors or Fresnel lenses could theoretically focus solar energy, the effectiveness at such distances is severely limited due to light diffraction. A 10 square meter solar collector on Earth would gather substantial energy, but very little could be effectively focused at 31 AU. Overall, the feasibility of beamed propulsion without lasers faces significant challenges in energy concentration over vast distances.
RobertGC
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The New Horizons results on Pluto are tantalizing. I was trying to come up with methods to get an orbiter or lander there. The problem is at a 31 AU distance from Earth solar power would only be 1/1000th as strong. However, with parabolic mirrors or Fresnel lenses we could focus a large amount of the light even very far away. A 10 square meter collecting area at Earth would collect 10,000 watts of solar energy. How much of this power could focus at 31 AU away?
This is beamed energy propulsion without using the laser. I wanted to avoid the laser so as to not have the problem of lofting the large mass needed for getting the high power laser to space.

Bob Clark
 
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RobertGC said:
A 10 square meter collecting area at Earth would collect 10,000 watts of solar energy. How much of this power could focus at 31 AU away?

Very, very little. You cannot focus light down to a spot 31 AU's away. It will simply diffract and spread outwards.
 

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