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Actually I'm hugely interested in astronomy and intergalactic travel.
I honestly think it's the most important thing we as a intelligent species should be focusing on.
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I wholeheartedly agree. There is so much untapped potential in space exploration. We would have more resources than we know what to do with if we actually invested time into space exploration. Unfortunately, our technology is too primitive as of now. The only thing that could possibly change space travel in the near future, is the development of a nuclear thermal rocket. If you're not familiar, essentially, a nuclear reactor replaces the chemical energy, used to ignite and expel gasses, (which is made from a combination of the two reactive chemicals found in traditional rocket engines, the propellant and the oxidizer) and utilizes nuclear energy instead. So, there is no need to carry oxidizer and the rocket only uses the propellant, as a result making the total mass of the rocket lighter. The exhaust velocity is also increased, leading to an increased specific impulse of the engine. It's supposed to be extremely efficient compared to our current technology. Only downside is, it cannot be used as a lifting stage for the rocket because its thrust is too little to be effectively used within an atmosphere.
