It’s no secret that I love gadgets. Some gadgets are cool in principle, by have names that don’t do them justice. This is not the case with the VASIMR, or Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket. Are you kidding me, these guys worked the word Magnetoplasma into the name of their rocket! Even Microsoft word is telling me it’s not a word in the English language. Best of all, the VASIMR is just as sick as it sounds. It’s a new engine being developed by Ad Astra Rocket Company for NASA and is in the prototype stage of development. Most people don’t realize, but the maximum speed that an object can travel is the speed which its engine can “blow”. Conventional rockets used to get objects into space are able to exert a tremendous amount of force, but are incapable of getting them to the astounding speeds needed for quick travel through the solar system. Essentially, they are pump out tons of energy but not at a very high speed. The VASIMR is different though. It is like a whisper compared to a rocket engine’s yell. But this whisper is traveling at 300 kilometers per second, or 0.1% the speed of light. This incredible velocity is attained by ionizing propellant (hydrogen) with radio waves to create plasma, then accelerating and shaping it with magnetic fields. Current methods for traveling to Mars take about 6 months to cover the distance. The VASIMR could cut travel time down to 2 months. I wonder if it uses a Retroencabulator?