IFLScience.com Makes Arguement Hyperloop Train Would Work Better On Mars

Now don't be confused by the title, they're not saying that it shouldn't be built here, but the argument that they make for using the Hyperloop train technology on Mars makes a lot of sense.  Here's what they had to say about the subject.

First of all, the Hyperloop train is what they call a vactrain.  This is a train that shoots through a tube that is a near vacuum.  The purpose of the tube being a near vacuum is so the train can shoot through the tube at incredible speeds and not have to worry about "drag," the "aerodynamic force that pushes in the opposite direction from which the train is traveling."  This is how the term vactrain got it's name...a train that travels in a vacuum.  The tube can't be completely devoid of air, though.  It will have 99.9% of it's air removed.  The reason for this is because of it's need to ride on a cushion of air.  It's basically floating.  While floating on this small cushion of air, it's propelled through the tube using powerful magnets which when activated in a certain sequence, can catapult the train through the tube at speeds topping out at over 750 mph.  Because of it's need to travel in a vacuum, IFLScience.com's Leon Vanstone suggests that Mars would be a better place for this technology.

He says that because of Mars' low atmosphere, the Hyperloop train may be the perfect form of transportation once we begin to settle colonies on the Red Planet.  The low atmosphere is one of the reasons he gives for this suggestion, but it also has to do with the planet's lack of fossil fuels.  You see, the Hyperloop train is "self-powered with electricity generated by it's own solar panels."  On a planet with no fossil fuels (that we know about!), this is the ideal form of generating power.  Elon Musk, the person that's behind this project, knows a little something about batteries and solar panels, too.  He's the guy behind Tesla Motors.  Tesla recently announced that they've created a solar-powered backup generator for homes, that's continually charged through it's solar panels.  That way, if your power goes out, you can just switch over to the generator to power your home.  Since it doesn't need gas, it's much safer to use, without having to worry about gas leaks that could cause suffocation.

Vanstone makes a very good argument for using this technology on Mars.  Even though we are still years and years away from ever needing trains on Mars to travel between different colonies, it's never to early to plan for our future.