NASA is working on a new photonic propulsion system that could slice travel to Mars from six months to just three days, according to The Spread It.
One of the most cumbersome obstacles in traveling to Mars is the time it takes to actually get to the red planet. Now NASA is close to producing a photonic propulsion system, allowing them to send satellites and probes to the red planet a lot faster. This would mean faster data and turnover for missions.
The new photonic propulsion will use a series of lights from lasers to produce thrust that will propel a craft through space, according to the Daily Mail. The vessels would travel closer to the speed of light, or relativistic speed.
Right now, NASA is concentrating on using the tech for small drones but someday it could be developed for larger crafts.
Though the idea seems to be more fiction than reality, NASA scientist Philip Lubin believes the super fast space travel is possible.
"We know how to get to relativistic speeds in the lab, we do it all the time," said Lubin. "There are recent advances that take this from science fiction to science reality."
NASA shared their findings through its video podcast NASA 360.
