[sierrahome]

There are several other hypothetical in shortening the time. One of the safety factors is to try to produce a powered flight as opposed to the thrust and then coast of the Moon shot. Sadly and incredibly the plans for the Apollo Saturn booster were to be destroyed through a treaty with the USSR--so if we needed the plans we would probably need to visit KGB HQ. There is also a dual thrust system using conventional and atomic power. the reactor would allow for power to super heated gasses (plasma) and also the reactor would power the craft thereby reducing the need for limited battery power source. (I stayed at a Holiday Inn express last night)

[nuke rocketeer]

First of all the Saturn 5 plans were not destroyed due to a treaty with the USSR. Boeing still has'em. A updated S5 would ideal for launching the components of a Mars mission into orbit, including, gasp...must I say it?...A NUCLEAR REACTOR for propulsion and power. With large enough fuel tanks (use water, not hydrogen) you could use a high-g boost (NERVA style) and get there in less than 2 years. But it should not be a land and run mission like Apollo. Land, set up a permanent base leave a crew to keep it running and some come back to Earth. It would also make use of not just one ship but at least 3. Dual use nuclear propulsion could be high g NERVA style and then switch over to ion propulsion using cesium as a working mass.