Originally Posted by Tracer
I know some of the dynamics to rockets in space, my understanding is that there needs to be a good sized burn to leave the atmosphere, a short burst to break earths gravity and then a prolonged burn to build up enough speed, then a series of other burns to get into Mars' orbit. You need to burn fuel to change direction, speed and all that. Thats how they're steered. In anycase, I remember hearing on TLC or something that conventional chemical rockets cannot generate enough energy in relation to thier weight (which has nothing to do with wind resistance) to get a rocket moving fast enough to get to Mars in under 2 years. Other solutions might be plasma, others suggest anti-matter, which is about as far off as cold fusion. Reguardless, chemical rockets aren't good enough. As it stands, the fastest moving craft ever made by man were the Voyagers which were nuclear powered as well as used the gravitational fields of the outer planets to slingshot itself to higher speeds. They were lighter than any manned craft too which helps.
