Nuclear-powered NASA Mars Mission Possible by 2010
Betterhumans Staff
[Saturday, January 18, 2003] Using a nuclear propulsion system, NASA aims to send astronauts to Mars within eight years.
"We\'re talking about doing something, on a very aggressive schedule, to not only develop the capabilities for nuclear propulsion and power generation, but to have a mission using the new technology within this decade," says senior NASA administrator Sean O\'Keefe.
The Los Angeles Times has reported that US President George Bush will announce the plan, called Project Prometheus, in his State of the Union address on January 28
It would make exploration of Mars and the development of a nuclear propulsion system a US priority.
Such a propulsion system would be more efficient and have greater thrust than traditional systems, allowing astronauts to reach Mars within two months as opposed to the six or seven months it could otherwise take.
If NASA\'s plan moves ahead, the first mission to Mars could be as early as 2010.
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That is such a long mission it is hard to believe that nothing would go wrong. I don\'t think I would do it. ALthough it would certainly be cool as shit.