The VASIMR technology is quite frankly amazing. The fuel efficiency is amazing, a single engine is expected to be capable of station keeping the ISS while vastly reducing the expenses and beyond Mars VASIMR engines hold a real possibility for manned exploration of the outer solar system.<p>VASIMR is to space what the Internal Combustion Engine has been to land. Quite literally it only takes minor modifications to the VASIMR design to attain a faster engine or a stronger engine for a variety of tasks.<p>In the future these engines will be being used for everything from travel between planets, to moving asteroids for mining. They're really quite incredible.