matter / antimatter drives.

Making antimatter matter

The goal of Hbar Technologies, LLC of Chicago, Illinois is "making antimatter matter".

The research group is actively studying an antimatter-driven sail for deep space. They are blueprinting a system that could allow probes to be sent to the Kuiper belt and beyond, made possible by funds from the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC).

Many think that antimatter is more "mysterium" than real. In fact, antimatter is already being generated at facilities such as Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois.

These labs produce antimatter by accelerating particles, such as protons, near the speed of light and ramming them into targets. The current worldwide, annual production of antimatter is only two billionths of a gram. Dramatic improvements in the production, storage and use of antimatter will be required to make it a viable propulsion alternative.

Although currently produced and stockpiled in small quantities using Penning Traps, antimatter must be stored in much higher densities to be applicable for missions into the outer realms of our solar system.

"In order to solve many of the mysteries of the universe or to explore the solar system and beyond, one single technology must be developed -- high performance propulsion, said Steven Howe, co-founder and CEO of Hbar. "In essence, future missions to deep space will require specific impulses of over 50,000 seconds in order to accomplish the mission within the career lifetime of an individual, 40 years," he said.

Only two technologies available to humankind offer such performance: fusion and antimatter. Fusion has proven unattainable despite forty years of research and billions of dollars. Antimatter, alternatively, Howe said, reacts 100 percent of the time in a well-described manner. Development of a suitable propulsion system, however, based on antimatter has yet to be shown.