Experts Ponder Nuclear Rockets To Send Humans To Mars
Nuclear rocket technology might be the fastest, safest way to get to the red planet. But if NASA wants to go, it should start development now.
When NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on the Martian surface last week, humans cheered from the confines of planet Earth.
But if the space agency or others hope to leave and send astronauts to Mars, experts say they need to consider a technology that was studied decades ago but never fully developed: nuclear-powered rockets.
"If we decide to send humans to Mars, nuclear propulsion is likely to be central to that journey," says Roger Myers, an independent aerospace consultant and co-chair of a panel convened by the National Academies to study nuclear propulsion.
A out from Myers and his colleagues suggests that NASA should
