James Gunn's Center for the Study of Science Fiction at Kansas University has always been a locus of awesomeness in the consideration of the genre we all love. Among other things, the Center hosts the John W. Campbell Memorial Award every year, celebrating "the best science-fiction novel of the year."

A six-month space journey away, Mars often seems an almost impossible planet to reach. But engineers are developing a new engine that could turn six months to six weeks, bringing the Red Planet much, much closer than ever before.