I was half-joking, but I wouldn't say I am a fan of the show. I just like watching 20-minute sit coms to sleep to. I've been through a lot of them, including that one.

2 years and 22 days? But the original quote said it takes 6 months to get to Mars at the moment?

Is there a similar estimate as to the difference RDRE would make? Or is it more the case of RDRE being more efficient in fuel terms, allowing for longer flights, rather than making them faster per se?

>It would also make the journey to Mars significantly shorter, from six months to just 45 days.

Is this with RDRE or the proposed nuclear-powered system?

Thank you for this, it's really interesting. It's got me reading through the Arabic star names: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arabic_star_names

I, shamefully, learned this from the Big Bang Theory show....

I recall reading, or maybe hearing on a podcast, somewhere that NASA top branch were not aware before JFK announced it and learned about it from his speech - but I've not been able to find anything corroborating that anywhere I searched. I'm sure I read it somewhere and did not dream it.

Yes, probably. JFK actually proposed a joint US-Soviet manned moon mission, which was well received by the Soviets but never really advanced since he was assassinated a couple of months later, and LBJ shelved any plans for cooperation committing instead to Apollo.

I agree with your first point, it's what the US and Soviets did in the 60s, but the NASA chief did recently literally say they were in a space race with China: "It is a fact: we're in a space race," the NASA administrator told Politico in an interview published Jan. 1. "And it is true that we better watch out that they don't get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research. And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, 'Keep out, we're here, this is our territory.'"

It will be quite something if China end up 'winning' the current 'space race' by building a permanent hub on the Moon, or getting a person to Mars, before anyone else after coming from behind like this. NASA is back on a 'war' footing now though, and Russia is a little distracted right now, so let's see what happens. Would be better if everyone just cooperated, but that ship has absolutely sailed for the near future.