Experts develop engine for spacecraft that can reach the Red Planet in just 29 days. One of the firms which US space agency NASA has selected for building a superfast spacecraft to travel to Mars has said that it has an engine that can reach the Red Planet in just 29 days.
The US space agency has sought help from a number of companies to help develop high-speed engines and other machineries for its deep space exploration.
The initiative is part of the NASA project called 12 Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextStep), the dailymail.co.uk reported.
The Texas-based company Ad Astra Rocket has said that its engine "Vasimr", fitted with a nuclear power source, can drastically reduce the travel time to Mars from months to weeks.
A prototype of this machine was successfully tested in 2013 and NASA is now planning to use it in future Mars exploration.
"We are thrilled by this announcement and proud to be joining forces with NASA in the final steps of the technology maturation,' the report quoted Ad Astra's Chairman Franklin Chang Diaz as saying.
The company will get $10 million from NASA to build the machine.
NASA has also selected seven companies to develop the habitats for the astronauts for Mars exploration in the 2030s.
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