I do have to point out that the Nuclear Pulse Rocket idea and the Spears from Space idea are *NOT* bad ideas at all. In fact, they’re really clever. I’ll admit the NPR idea is kind of counterintuitive, but actually the astronauts would end up taking in *LESS* radiation exposure riding nukes to mars for 30 days than they would have in a 3-year long conventional voyage.

And the space spears thing is super sweet because there’s nothing that can stop it, it’s amazingly effective for surface targets, and there’s no fallout. Very simple weapon when a heat-treated I-beam can be as effective as a micro-tactical nuke.