‘In just 30 days...’: UK-based startup’s daring quest to fuse stars and shrink the solar system

Getting to Mars isn’t just about covering distance — it’s about surviving time. The average journey takes anywhere from six to nine months, depending on orbital alignment, testing not only propulsion systems but every aspect of human endurance and safety in space. Engineers and astronauts alike grapple with how to maintain life, shield against radiation, and stay mission-ready over nearly a year in transit.

But now, a bold new effort aims to flip that script entirely — with a journey measured not in months, but in days.

A UK-based startup, Pulsar Fusion, is developing Sunbird, a nuclear fusion-powered rocket that promises to slash Mars travel time from seven months to just 30 days. Designed to reach breakneck speeds of 329,000 mph (about 529,000 km/h), the Sunbird uses a Direct Fusion Drive (DDFD) that the company plans to test in orbit by 2027.

Nuclear fusion has long eluded researchers trying to mimic the energy of stars on Earth. “It’s very unnatural to do fusion on Earth. Fusion doesn’t want to work in an atmosphere,” said Richard Dinan, CEO and founder of Pulsar Fusion, in a statement to CNN. “Space is a far more logical, sensible place to do fusion, because that’s where it wants to happen anyway.”

If successful, the Sunbird could exceed even the Parker Solar Probe — the current speed record holder — by reaching up to 805,000 km/h. That would mean Mars in 30 days, and Pluto in just four years.

Though still early in development and projected to cost $70 million per unit, Sunbird rockets promise reusability and potential applications ranging from cargo transport and asteroid mining to deep space missions. Initially, the rocket will assist in ferrying satellites into orbit and could deliver payloads of up to 2,000 kg to Mars within six months.

Unlike traditional rockets like SpaceX's Starship, Sunbird won’t travel solo. Instead, it will operate more like a high-speed space tug, attaching to larger spacecraft to boost them across interplanetary distances. “We launch them into space, and we would have a charging station where they could sit and then meet your ship,” Dinan explained. “Ideally, you’d have a station somewhere near Mars, and you’d have a station in low Earth orbit, and the (Sunbirds) would go back and forth.”

With an orbital demonstration planned for 2027, Pulsar Fusion’s Sunbird could mark a turning point in space travel — where reaching other worlds is not just faster, but finally feasible.