Leszek Czechowski

Subject: Terraforming Mars and the Physics of Powerful Rocket Engines

The proposed in 2025 project for radical terraforming of Mars involves the transport of celestial bodies belonging to the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) to Mars. Their masses could reach 10^15 kg. Current astronautical techniques are only adapted to the small mass of spacecraft. However, the needs of terraforming require much larger engines. The various current designs for such engines are often not supported by reliable physical and technical analysis. As part of a doctoral thesis, such an analysis should be conducted and the most promising directions identified.

Requirements: knowledge of engine physics, interest in energy (including nuclear) and astronautics, and ability to numerically model thermodynamic processes.