ЁЯЪА Could nuclear fusion make the journey to Mars twice as fast?
A UK space propulsion company is developing Sunbird, a proposed nuclear fusion-powered rocket concept that could eventually cut travel time to Mars by about half.
The technology is still in development, but the company has already reported an important "first plasma" milestone as it works toward its ambitious vision for faster deep-space travel.
At the same time, NASA is developing its own nuclear propulsion technologies, including nuclear thermal and nuclear electric propulsion, which could help future spacecraft travel more efficiently to Mars and beyond.
The technology is not ready to carry astronauts to Mars yetтАФbut the race to develop faster propulsion for deep-space exploration is clearly moving forward. ЁЯФ┤ЁЯЪА
