What's the best way to get to Mars?

[Lancer]

Ahh I see Skanky.

Zkribbler, any point in going past Venus besides speed? Could we gather some atmosphere and use it for fuel somehow?

Orange, yes.

[Lancer]

I don't guess there's any hope for Venus, right?

[yavoon]

plato's idea sounds a lil elaborate to me. he has an ion drive, a nuclear reactor and rockets.

he is carrying large amts of presumably chemical fuel, nuclear fuel, and human fuel.

I think something much simpler will be used for our first ventures that far.

[Skanky Burns]

How long does nuclear fuel last? I'm pretty sure it would still be good 2 years after launch. Of course, fusion would be much nicer.

Venus is good for speed, but thats about it. Any equipment used to get fuel or such out of Venus would probably take up more space than just carrying the fuel from Earth in the first place. I wouldn't recommend landing on Venus either.