The Bae Institute of California is working on development of a Photonic Laser Thruster (PLT) that may allow for, among other things, reducing the flight to Mars from 6-8 months to a week or less. According to Bae, the thruster would be able to propel a shuttle beyond 100 kilometers per second. NASA, JPL, and the Air Force have all requested more information on Bae's research.
If this technology does eventually reach production, its impact on a trip to Mars would certainly be interesting. The social and psychological problems with prolonged space travel would largely be alleviated. The reduced transit time seems like it would also increase the window of possible departures to Mars, or even open the possibility of tourist travel in the future.
The article isn't very technical and its worth exploring even further at The Bae Institute's website.
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Wow! According to my calculations that is about 0.04% the speed of light.
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