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> this isn't providing any of the key technologies we need for a manned Mars mission It would give a really good reason to dust off NERVA, the engine tech Nasa
by keenerd 12y ago
> this isn't providing any of the key technologies we need for a manned Mars mission
It would give a really good reason to dust off NERVA, the engine tech Nasa planned to use for a Mars mission in the '70s. Safe, too. NERVA for pushing asteroids around would keep the prototype engines far away from both astronauts and Earth.
- danielweber 12y agoNuclear rockets would be awesome. They aren't required for a Mars mission, and if we keep on talking about how much they would help, pretty soon they would implicitly end up on the "Required To Get To Mars" list. Then, any problems that nuclear rockets run into (say political opposition, reasonable or not) derails a Mars mission.