A fuel-free engine, described as 'impossible' to create, may now be a step closer to reality, according to leaked Nasa documents.

Named the EM Drive, the engine could one day have the potential to get a human crew to Mars in just 10 weeks, without using a conventional rocket fuel or nuclear reactor.

The latest report describes a series of successful tests carried out at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center in Texas.

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A fuel-free engine, described as 'impossible' to create, may now be a step closer to reality, according to leaked Nasa documents. Pictured is a prototype of the EMDrive that some say power a spacecraft to Mars in just 10 weeks

The experimental propulsion system has caused a stir as, according to the laws of physics, it should not work.

Traditional rocket engines use chemical fuel, which is combusted and ejected from the thrusters.

In the airless vacuum of space, this works by the Newton’s third law of motion – generating thrust by ejecting mass into the vacuum of space, with no air needed.

But in the case of the EM Drive, there is no fuel to eject.

The tests managed to generate powers of 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt (mN/Kw), a fraction of the current state of the art Hall ion thruster, which can achieve a massive 60 mN/Kw (illustrated)

The propulsion system may make deep space travel as in Star Trek a possibility. However, Nasa's said earlier this year: 'There are many 'absurd' theories that have become reality over the years of scientific research. 'But for the near future, warp drive remains a dream'

'LEAKED' NASA PAPER A research report, which has appeared online, describes a series of successful tests carried out at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. It outlines a experiments with a 'closed radio frequency cavity'. The paper describes how early tests of the system in a vacuum, recreating the conditions of the engine if were used in space. Engineers carried out controlled bursts at 40, 60 and 80 watts, reporting that the thrust achieved in a vacuum was similar to the performance achieved in air. The tests managed to generate powers of 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt (mN/Kw), a fraction of the current state of the art Hall thruster, which can achieve a massive 60 mN/Kw. But the researchers say that the lack of fuel consumption could make up for the drop in power. Advertisement

Instead, the design generates thrust by harnessing particles of light and bouncing microwaves around inside a closed chamber, shaped like a cone.

The movement generates thrust at the slim end of the cone, which drives the engine forward.

The paper, was first leaked on a Nasa Spaceflight forum by Australian user Phil Wilson before being taken down by administrators, reports IBTimes.

It was subsequently published by NextBigFuture, and describes how early tests of the system in a vacuum, recreating the conditions of the engine if it were used in space.

Engineers carried out controlled bursts at 40, 60 and 80 watts, reporting the thrust achieved in a vacuum was similar to the performance achieved in air.

The tests managed to generate 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt (mN/Kw) of power, a fraction of the current state of the art Hall thruster, which can achieve a massive 60 mN/Kw.

But the researchers say the lack of fuel consumption could make up for the drop in power.

In the leaked paper, the researchers explain: ‘…for missions with very large delta-v requirements, having a propellant consumption rate of zero could offset the higher power requirements.’

Despite Nasa’s apparent test success, there is no indication the paper has been through peer review – a critical part of the scientific process – and has not been published in a journal.

MailOnline contacted Nasa for comment.

A number of groups are reported to be working on the technology, including Nasa’s Eagleworks Laboratories, which is developing advanced propulsion systems and is cited in the recent paper.

If it works, the ‘impossible’ EM Drive could one day have the potential to get a human crew to Mars in just 10 weeks, without using conventional rocket fuel or a nuclear reactor

WHAT IS THE EMDRIVE? The concept of an EmDrive engine is relatively simple. It provides thrust to a spacecraft by bouncing microwaves around in a closed container. Solar energy provides the electricity to power the microwaves, which means that no propellant is needed. The implications for this could be huge. For instance, current satellites could be half the size they are today without the need to carry fuel. Humans could also travel further into space, generating their own propulsion on the way. But when the concept was first proposed it was considered implausible because it went against the laws of physics. Its allegedly fuel-free nature also means the drive may directly contradict the law of conservation of momentum. It suggests it would produce a forward-facing force without an equal and opposite force acting in the other direction. Advertisement

Earlier this year, inventor Roger Shaw filed a patent for an EM drive engine design with a conducting plate to increase the thrust.

A paper published in AIP Advances last month suggested the Em Drive produces an exhaust like every other rocket.

'EmDrive works just like any other engine,' Dr Arto Annila, physics professor at the University of Helsinki and lead author of the paper, told MailOnline at the time.

'Its fuel is the input photons at microwave lengths.'

The researchers suggest the photons coming out of the machine interfere with each other, so the overall effect seems as if nothing is there.

'In the cavity the input photons will bounce back and forth, and invariably some of them will interfere completely destructively.'

'Then the two photons will be exactly 180 degrees out phase.