3 months to Mars

[George K]

https://newatlas.com/space/nuclear-thermal-propulsion-ntp-nasa-unsc-tech-deep-space-travel/

Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-Tech) has developed a concept for a new Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine and delivered it to NASA. Claimed to be safer and more reliable than previous NTP designs and with far greater efficiency than a chemical rocket, the concept could help realize the goal of using nuclear propulsion to revolutionize deep space travel, reducing Earth-Mars travel time to just three months.

Because chemical rockets are already near their theoretical limits and electric space propulsion systems have such low thrust, rocket engineers continue to seek ways to build more efficient, more powerful engines using some variant of nuclear energy. If properly designed, such nuclear rockets could have several times the efficiency of the chemical variety. The problem is to produce a nuclear reactor that is light enough and safe enough for use outside the Earth's atmosphere – especially if the spacecraft is carrying a crew.

Now, if you could accelerate at 1G, you can get to Mars in days rather than months. Of course, you'd have to flip the ship and decelerate at 1G halfway there.

Solomon Epstein smiled.

[Klaus]

Here comes the juice!

[George K]

At 1G acceleration, you could get to the moon in about 3.5 hours.

https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/840/how-fast-will-1g-get-you-there

The Moon / Luna:Closest to Earth (Supermoon): 356,577 km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 2h 22m 12s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 3h 20m 24s

Mercury: Closest to Earth: 77.3 million km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 1d 10h 52m 48s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 2d 1h 19m 12s

Venus: Closest to Earth: 40 million km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 1d 1h 5m 2s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 1d 11h 28m 48s

Mars: Closest to Earth: 65 million km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 1d 7h 58m 5s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 1d 21h 13m 1s

Jupiter: Closest to Earth: 588 million km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 4d 0h 11m 2s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 5d 16h 2m 2s

Saturn: Closest to Earth: 1.2 billion km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 5d 17h 25m 1s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 8d 2h 20m 24s

Uranus: Closest to Earth: 2.57 billion km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 8d 9h 6m 0s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 11d 20h 24m 0s

Neptune: Closest to Earth: 4.3 billion km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 10d 20h 7m 48s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 15d 7h 52m 48s

Pluto: Closest to Earth: 4.28 billion km
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, no deceleration): 10d 19h 31m 12s
Travel time (at 9.80665 m/s2, decelerating halfway): 15d 7h 1m 12s

[Copper]

Plus, you get gravity.

[Doctor Phibes]

You wouldn't want to run into that stupid Tesla at that kind of speed.

[mark]

Wow. this is so cool. Reducing the time it takes to get to Mars almost down to what it used to take to cross the Atlantic ocean, on a sailing vessel in 1492.

[Mik]

We'll get there. It will just take time.