What if we told you a 30-day trip to Mars might soon be possible?
Forget the months-long space odyssey you’ve seen in sci-fi—Russian scientists just dropped a bombshell.
They’ve built a working plasma engine prototype that could slash Mars travel time from six months to just one or two.
Sounds like space magic, right?
What’s The Science?
Here’s the science (we promise it’s cool).
Instead of your typical chemical rockets, this engine uses electromagnetic fields to launch hydrogen ions at a mind-blowing speed of 100 km/s.
By comparison, regular rockets only hit about 4.5 km/s.
This means a steady, continuous acceleration to Mars, which means less time dealing with cosmic radiation and astronaut cabin fever.
But before you start packing your bags for Mars, keep in mind that we’re still in the testing phase.
The engine’s only proven in lab conditions, and there are big questions left to answer—like how it’ll integrate with existing spacecraft and whether we can power it efficiently.
