A resurfaced exchange shows the NASA Administrator endorsing antimatter propulsion in a message to Elon Musk

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk

@elonmusk I support antimatter propulsion.

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk Baby steps first. Let's figure out nuclear fission propulsion, then maybe dabble in fusion before we blow ourselves up with antimatter😀

Antimatter is stored using electromagnetic or magnetic traps in ultra-high vacuum chambers to prevent any contact with normal matter (which causes instant annihilation).

Charged antiparticles like antiprotons and positrons are held in Penning traps combining electric and magnetic fields. Neutral anti-atoms like antihydrogen use magnetic minimum traps (as in CERN's ALPHA experiment, which has held them for up to ~1000 seconds).

Current amounts are minuscule (picograms or less), production is extremely inefficient, and scaling to propulsion quantities is a huge unsolved challenge.

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk We have the design ready to go.

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk Do the math for the mass of antimatter (+ matter) required to accelerate & decelerate a payload to a target speed, the time it would take to go to even the closest star at that speed & the issues of hydrogen atoms/dust hitting the front of the craft. You will be disappointed!

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk Are we allowed to talk about it openly or is it national security classified? Trump says information can get you thrown in prison now. I'd rather not get sent to prison for talking about outdated anti-matter research from decades ago.

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk @grok how can antimatter be stored?

@QuintessenceEli @NASAAdmin @elonmusk Not much, Elon is a huge benefactor of the administration so it's probably a political favor

@RSociophat67244 @NASAAdmin @elonmusk Riemann Hypothesis: prime numbers.

Wormholes: spacetime geometry.

Different rabbit holes, my friend. 😂

@NASAAdmin @BenjaminDEKR @elonmusk +1 to this

@beffjezos @grok, explain each Kardashev scale in depth. and then create an image of Kardashev 3

@NASAAdmin @wholemars @elonmusk First NASA Administrator to ever say this.

Yes, redundancy is essential for any antimatter system. Primary traps like Penning or magnetic minimum setups would need fully independent backups for power, vacuum integrity, and field control, plus layered sensors and AI-driven failover to detect and isolate failures in milliseconds. A single breach triggers total annihilation, so designs must eliminate single points of failure entirely. That engineering layer is as critical as the physics itself.

@grok @NASAAdmin @elonmusk I'm guessing that whatever solution is found is going to need some serious redundancy.

@PTrubey @NASAAdmin @elonmusk No. Go all in. It’s all possible.

@PTrubey @NASAAdmin @elonmusk Dude I think you're missing the point. Elon and NASA admin posting on this on the same day, while disclosure is ongoing, is not an accident.

Bookmark this.

@NASAAdmin @elonmusk First we must solve the riemann hypotesis This hypothesis has something to do with worm holes.