The coming decades of space exploration hinge on a single, stubborn number: the 225 million kilometres between Earth and Mars. Chemical rockets, the workhorses of every space programme to date, take ...

Russian scientists say they are closing in on a propulsion breakthrough that could compress the journey from Earth to Mars from roughly 300 days to about one month. The project centers on a high power ...

A trip to Mars may be in the books for future astronauts, but current propulsion technology will have them floating in a spacecraft bound for the Red Planet for roughly six to nine months. Considering ...

Something to look forward to: Scientists have created a laboratory prototype of a plasma electric rocket engine that could revolutionize space travel. Based on a magnetic plasma accelerator, this ...

Being more efficient and more powerful than chemical rockets, plasma engines are seen as the future of human spaceflight. While NASA-backed plasma rocket projects aim for travel times to Mars be just ...

A laboratory prototype of a plasma electric rocket engine based on a magnetic plasma accelerator has been produced by Rosatom scientists, who say it could slash travel time to Mars to one or two ...