reactors

Science

Nuclear rockets may reach Mars in half the time, but designing the reactors to power them is not easy

Nuclear-powered rockets may one day enable faster space travel. Credit: NASA NASA plans to send a crewed mission to Mars over the next decade, but the 140 million mile (225 million kilometer) journey there could take months or years round trip. This relatively long flight time is a result of the use of conventional chemical rocket fuel. The agency is…