With a "small sun" for an engine, a new rocket might be able to zip us to Mars and back in under three months.

NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and PBS viewers.

Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.

With a "small sun" for an engine, a new rocket might be able to zip us to Mars and back in under three months. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and PBS viewers. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.

NSN | Plasma Rockets

NOVA brings you short video stories from the world of science, including excerpts from our television programs, video dispatches from producers and correspondents in the field, animations, and much more. For more science programming online and on air, visit NOVA's Web site at http://www.pbs.org/nova and watch NOVA broadcasts Wednesday nights on PBS.  Please note that this feed requires QuickTime 7.  Free upgrade available at apple.com/itunes.

NOVA brings you short video stories from the world of science, including excerpts from our television programs, video dispatches from producers and correspondents in the field, animations, and much more. For more science programming online and on air, visit NOVA's Web site at http://www.pbs.org/nova and watch NOVA broadcasts Wednesday nights on PBS. Please note that this feed requires QuickTime 7. Free upgrade available at apple.com/itunes.

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NSN | Plasma Rockets

NSN | Plasma Rockets