Achieving the required mobility in the solar system through direct fusion drive

Abstract To develop a spacefaring civilization, humankind must develop technologies which enable safe, affordable and repeatable mobility through the solar system. One such technology is nuclear fusion propulsion which is at present under study mostly as a breakthrough toward the first interstellar probes. The aim of the present paper is to show that direct fusion drive is even more important in human planetary exploration and constitutes the natural solution to the problem of exploring and colonizing the solar system.