Mars Trips Could Be Cut In Half With Nuclear Power

Mars Trips Could Be Cut In Half With Nuclear Power

This article originally appeared on Universe Today.Getting to Mars takes a really long time, about 9 months using today’s rocket technology. This is because regular rocket engines burn fuel and oxygen together (like a car engine), but they’re not very efficient. The fundamental problem is that spacecraft must carry both fuel and oxidizer since there’s no air in space to support combustion. This creates a vicious circle: The more fuel you carry t…