The recent Lawrence Livermore breakthrough, in which scientists created more energy from a fusion reaction than it took to create it, has uses applicable to space exploration. Fusion, harnessing the sun’s power to smash atoms together to create virtually limitless energy, has moved from a scientific problem to an engineering challenge. The task ahead is to develop the hardware necessary to create sustained fusion reactions that could, in turn, generate clean energy that will make fossil fuels, along with solar, wind and nuclear energy obsolete. The task will take years if not decades to come to fruition. The first effect…