---
title: "NASA Selects Companies to Develop Super-Fast Deep Space Engine"
description: "NASA announced it will partner with a variety of companies in new attempts to create more advanced space technology--including a new engine that could get humans to mars in less than 40 days."
date: "2015-04-02"
modified: "2015-08-13"
authors:
  - name: "Alex Klokus"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/alex-klokus"
url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-selects-companies-to-develop-super-fast-deep-space-engine"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "space"
---

# NASA Selects Companies to Develop Super-Fast Deep Space Engine

![Default Futurism featured image](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Futurism-Filler-Image.jpg>)

- The Texas-based Ad Astra Rocket company, a member of NASA’s 12 Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextStep), boasted their VASIMR engine can get humans to Mars in 39 days
- Over a three year period, NASA will give Ad Astra around $10 million dollars to fully develop a new version of the VASIMR engine to be flight ready. With the successful demonstrations of their new VX-200-SS prototype, able to fire continuously for more than 100 hours, NASA will consider employing the propulsion system on their future excursion to Mars.
- NASA said in a statement that other commercial partners such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Dynetics Inc were in place to explore other possibilities on Mars.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexklokus>)