Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Covering the well over 100 million miles to Mars is no easy feat. Even in the best case scenario, the journey can take many months. As an alternative to heavy and inefficient chemical rockets, NASA continues to investigate an intriguing alternative that instead uses electricity for propulsion. Combined with a nuclear power source, such a thruster could greatly lower our dependence on heavy propellants, bringing human explorers one small step closer to visiting Mars for the first time. Earlier this year, the space agency fired up a “next generation” prototype thruster in a special chamber at its Jet Propulsion Lab, cranking it up to “power levels exceeding any previous test in the United States,” according to a new update. JPL Tests Next-Generation Electric Thruster Newly-released video footage shows the thruster glowing a mesmerizing shade of red as a tungsten electrode in its center heats up to over 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The prototype, a “lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster,” generates …