Round Trip to Mars: 39 Days or Less NASA Ion Propulsion Rocket Engine Sends You to Mars and Back in Over a Month; Special Fees May Apply

Are you still dreaming about going to Mars one day? Well I can t promise
that you re actually going to make it as an astronaut but I still have
some good news for you. It looks like travelling to Mars is a lot easier
nowadays thanks to a new Ion propulsion rocket engine.

Regular trips to Mars take up to two years with current technology with
the crew having to wait a full year before the planets realign for a
safe return. Well in all honesty, no man or woman has ever gone to Mars
although we did send probes and various missions in the past.

Now we find out that in the near future we will be able to go to Mars
and back in just 39 days. That would be an impressive achievement for
mankind but we shouldn t expect to see man on Mars in the very near future.

The new Ion propulsion engine has been designed mainly by Canada
although it was an international effort as more countries were involved
in the project. The engine uses electrical power which could be obtained
directly from the Sun and then transformed into thrust. The engine would
work non-stop half-way to Mars and it will decelerate the other half.
And that s how you go to Mars in a 39-day period.

All this sounds great in theory but conclusive testing will have to
prove that the engine can run for 39 days straight without any problems.
The engine will probably be thoroughly tested around the moon so NASA
scientists can look at in action in the vacuum of space. The Ion engine
could also be used on the space station in order to counteract the
current drag which forces astronauts to burn fuel regularly in order to
boost their orbit.

In other words, man s first trip to Mars will not be possible
immediately, let alone public tours of the planet. But by the time we
get to tell our grandkids Neil Armstrong stories, Mars missions will
probably become a lot more popular and much easier to accomplish.