21st Century Innovative Technologies and Developments as also discoveries, curiosity ( insolite)...

You're opening up the outer solar system to scientific exploration. You don't have to wait for the planets to align. You'll have launch opportunities every year," said Dale Thomas, deputy director of the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Propulsion Research Center. "And, by the way, since we're talking about direct trajectories, you get there in about half the time.

With nuclear-thermal propulsion, getting to Mars could take as little as two months instead of nine, depending on the path taken, engineers said. And reducing the trip time would have the advantage of limiting the supplies needed for such a journey.

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https://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-innovative-technologies-and-developments/?&tag=NASA

Nasa has unveiled plans to test nuclear-powered rockets that would fly astronauts to Mars in ultra-fast time.

The agency has partnered with the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) to demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket engine in space as soon as 2027, it announced on Tuesday.

The project is intended to develop a pioneering propulsion system for space travel far different from the chemical systems prevalent since the modern era of rocketry dawned almost a century ago.

“Using a nuclear thermal rocket allows for faster transit time, reducing risk for astronauts,” Nasa said in a press release.

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