Face it, we all know that electronics has improved substantially including advances in CCD cameras, digital data storage and fabulous data encoding techniques that saved Gallileo from total disaster. But we get to the outer planets in the same old, same old way. Chemical rockets. Years in transit. Years that add big bucks to mission support costs.

Use of nuclear electric and nuclear plasma propulsion could change the rules and results. Shorter mission times and/or higher payloads. To give up an opportunity funding such engineering programs, dooms the NEXT 30 or so years of space exploration to be a dwindling zero sum game of funding wars between different communities. There are no physical reasons why such programs cannot succeed. NERVA demonstrated nuclear H2 heating rockets with 1960s technology. DS1 demonstrated the viability of ion propulsion. Next up is a test flight of a solar powered VASIMR plasma rocket. Why we should plan for pre-ordained failure is a mystery to me. The new budget paradigm of funds to those who succeed at the expense of those who fail, overrun, etc. makes sense.

-p