Fusion rocket engines could take a manned crew to Mars in 30 to 90 days, NASA-funded scientists at the University of Washington say.
The scientists are building a fusion-driven rocket system that pulses at a rate of one blast per minute, causing exhaust to exit the divergent magnetic nozzle at 30 km per second. Solar energy will provide electricity needed to charge capacitors that power the fusion rocket's magnets. For each pulse of the rocket engine, powerful magnets crush a series of lithium metal rings around a ball of tritium-deuterium plasma. An exothermic reaction occurs, providing thrust.
The fusion rocket engine will only be active for 10 percent of the voyage, to speed the spaceship away from Earth, and to slow the spaceship down upon arrival near Mars. Unlike a conventional chemical rocket, the fusion rocket's lithium fuel takes up only 50 percent of its mass, compared to 98 percent for a liquid fuel Saturn V rocket.
The fusion rocket should also be more cost effective than a chemical rocket, whose primary cost is transporting fuel to space.

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