The most powerful ion engine was tested in the USA

Last week, Ad Astra Rocket Company successfully tested the VASIMIR VX-200, the most powerful plasma rocket engine to date. VASIMIR stands for Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket.

This model is the most efficient compared to previous generations of accelerators due to the use of a radio frequency generator that heats particles and creates plasma, reports 3DNews .

The company entered into an agreement with NASA to conduct engine performance testing on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2013. It will periodically “push” the station, which is constantly descending due to atmospheric drag.

Now on the ISS such operations are performed by the ships' low-thrust engines, which consume about 7.5 tons of rocket fuel per year. By reducing this amount to 0.3 tons, Cheng-Diaz says VASIMR would save NASA millions annually.

A 10-20 megawatt VASIMR engine will be able to carry out missions, according to its developers, to deliver people to Mars in just 39 days, while conventional rockets will take six months, if not more.