If solved
Fast Solar System Transit
Nuclear-powered spacecraft routinely carry cargo and crews across the inner solar system faster and with less propellant than chemical rockets.
Open in the interactive tree →A flown, reusable nuclear stage or nuclear-electric tug would change mission planning for Mars, asteroids and the outer planets. Lunar and Mars surface reactors could share much of the same technology.
What it brings
- Crewed Mars trips with less time in space radiation
- Heavy cargo to the outer planets
- Reactor power for lunar and Mars outposts