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The Future of Space Travel: NASA's Revolutionary Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Exploring deep space, particularly a journey to Mars, has long captured the imagination of scientists and the public alike. Elon Musk envisions such a journey aboard SpaceX's Starship, which is powered by 39 Raptor engines and could take about six months. While this timeline might seem efficient given the distance of roughly 140 million miles, it also raises concerns about prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation and microgravity that can adversely affect astronaut health. To address these concerns, NASA is developing an alternative propulsion technology that could potentially reduce travel time to Mars to mere weeks or even days.