article_snippet.sent: The Vasimr engine - which uses plasma as a propellant - is being developed by the Ad Astra Rocket company in Texas.
article_snippet.sent: The Vasimr engine - which uses plasma as a propellant - shot to fame a few years ago when The Vasimr engine - which uses plasma as a propellant - was revealed that The Vasimr engine - which uses plasma as a propellant - could drastically reduce the journey time to Mars from months to weeks - although The Vasimr engine - which uses plasma as a propellant - may require a nuclear power source.
article_snippet.sent: Short for Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, Vasimr works with plasma, an electrically charged gas that can be heated to extreme temperatures by radio waves and controlled and guided by strong magnetic fields.
article_snippet.sent: Short for Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket
article_snippet.sent: , Vasimr works with plasma, an electrically charged gas that can be heated to extreme temperatures by radio waves and controlled and guided by strong magnetic fields .
article_snippet.sent: the engine Vasimr could be part of the entire spacecraft that will ultimately take astronauts to Mars.
article_snippet.sent: Whether an engine such as Vasimr could shorten the time it would take to cover the distance, though, remains to be seen.
article_snippet.sent: Three advanced electric propulsion projects, including Vasimr, will develop engines that operate in the 50 to 300 kilowatt range.
highlights_snippet.sent: Ad Astra's Vasimr engine could apparently get to Mars in 39 days .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: Ad Astra's Vasimr engine is one of 12 advanced technology projects to be funded by Nasa .
  