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NASA has previously discussed how nuclear propulsion technology could allow the agency to send humans to Mars more quickly than by using traditional chemical rockets.
"Nuclear electric propulsion systems use propellants much more efficiently than chemical rockets but provide a low amount of thrust," NASA has said. "Nuclear electric propulsion systems accelerate spacecraft for extended periods and can propel a Mars mission for a fraction of the propellant of high-thrust systems."
There are multiple types of nuclear propulsion that could be used in space technology. With nuclear electric propulsion, thermal energy from a nuclear reactor is turned into electric energy that powers whatever type of electrical thruster or propulsion tech that a spacecraft uses. With nuclear thermal propulsion, reactors heat up propellants like hydrogen and then the gas from that reaction is ejected, creating thrust. This can create a lot more thrust than electric propulsion systems.