Grandma's House

It had to happen sooner or later.

A new means of propelling spacecraft being developed at the University of Washington could dramatically cut the time needed for astronauts to travel to and from Mars and could make humans a permanent fixture in space.

In fact, with magnetized-beam plasma propulsion, or mag-beam, quick trips to distant parts of the solar system could become routine, said Robert Winglee, a UW Earth and space sciences professor who is leading the project.

So I guess Star Trek-type travel is just around the corner. Scotty better get to work on those engines (I kinna do it Captain!) because warp-drive engines are the next step, right? I wouldn't mind. I've often thought it would be great to have a transporter system on Earth. Need something from the store? Beam in and out in ten minutes. No more gas lines. No more driving in nasty weather. Ah, paradise!