One big problem with sending humans to Mars is the time such a mission would take using chemical rockets-- well over a year, at least, and possibly three years, depending on how much time was spent actually on the surface of Mars. During such a mission, astronauts would be exposed to the dangers of radiation, which causes cancer and genetic damage, and prolonged weightlessness, which can destroy muscle and bone.
So, NASA is looking for ways to shorten mission times, and it may have found one. A team at the University of Washington is developing a fusion powered rocket that could fly between Earth and Mars in about 90 days. All the physics and engineering of such a rocket are already well understood, and the team is working on building test models.
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