Ad Astra Rocket Co. has developed an ion rocket that could shorten the trip to Mars to 39 days.

Aside from simply being a snazzy rocket you could use to fly to Mars, the technology also has a provincial Bostonian angle. Ad Astra is based in Texas, but its CEO, Franklin Chang-Diaz, is an MIT alum and former astronaut whose daughter, state senator Sonia Chang Diaz, defeated her scandal-plagued predecessor, Dianne Wilkerson, in last fall’s election. 

MIT researcher Oleg Batishchev, whose Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster is based on the elder Chang-Diaz’ technology, called the Ad Astra rocket a Ferrari, while his plasma thruster, intended for steering satellites, is an ecnomical hybrid.

To demonstrate his thruster ’s simplicity, Bathshchev and his team made a version of his rocket out of a Coke bottle and a Coke can. After the jump, watch video of the bottle/can rocket. (more…)