Proposed Bimodal Nuclear Spacecraft Could Halve Mars Round-Trip Time

NASA engineer Kurt Polzin and General Atomics' Robert Schleicher have proposed the S-BNR, a single-reactor design combining nuclear thermal and nuclear electric propulsion. Presented at an AIAA conference and detailed in IEEE Spectrum, the concept targets a 335-day-or-less Mars round trip versus NASA's current 650-day baseline. The bimodal core would also generate electricity for life support during cruise. No hardware has been built.