Last week, the Ad Astra Rocket Company tested what is now the most powerful plasma rocket in the world. The VASIMR VX-200 engine passed 200 kilowatts for the first time ever. Ad Astra and their engine VASIMR (Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket) have an agreement with NASA to test their engine on the International Space Station in 2013. The engine could provide boosts to the ISS which drops in altitude slightly due to atmospheric drag. The VASIMR engine could save NASA millions of dollars per year by using less propellant to give the ISS a boost. Ad Astra also plans for the VASIMR engine to lead trips to Mars that would only take 39 days, as opposed to about six months in a rocket. This would expose astronauts less to space radiation which is a big concern with a trip to Mars. See the full article here.
It would definitely be interesting to see a trip to Mars in such a short time only several years from now. What these scientists can create to travel into space is amazing. It is good to see progress like this that could also save money for NASA. This is a story I would definitely like to see more of in the future and I hope scientists continue to make progress in this field.
Another good point to add is that if NASA is able to build a base on the Moon, it would be considerably cheaper to fly to the base and back with this new rocket. With advances in modern technology this might very well prove to be the link between Earth and the Moon.