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HomeSECURITYNASA plans to test a nuclear rocket engine in the coming years

NASA plans to test a nuclear rocket engine in the coming years

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NASA plans to test a nuclear rocket engine in the coming years

According to the agency, a rocket with such an engine will be able to deliver people to Mars in just 45 days.

NASA revealed plans to build a nuclear-powered rocket that could take astronauts to Mars in just 45 days. The agency plans to introduce a working engine as early as 2027.

Modern NASA rocket systems (including the Space Launch system that sent the Artemis 1 rocket last year to the moon) are based on the traditional method of chemical propulsion. It mixes an oxidizer with combustible propellant to create a blazing thrust jet. The proposed nuclear system would use the chain reaction from breaking atoms to power a nuclear reactor. It is planned that such an engine will be at least three times more efficient and, according to the agency, will be able to reduce the flight time to Mars from the current seven months to 45 days.

“DARPA and NASA have a long history of fruitful collaboration. From the Saturn V rocket that first put humans on the moon, to robotic maintenance and satellite refueling.” stated Stephanie Tompkins, director of DARPA. She added: “Space is critical to modern commerce, scientific discovery, and national security. The possibility of breakthrough advances in space technology will be critical to more efficient and faster transport of materials to the Moon. And in the end – people to Mars.

NASA began its research into nuclear thermal propulsion as early as 1959. This led to the design and construction of the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA), a solid-fuel nuclear reactor that was successfully tested on Earth. However, plans to launch the engine in space were mothballed after the end of the “Apollo era” in 1973 and a sharp reduction in program funding.

Nuclear engines can operate more efficiently than their chemical counterparts. They are divided into two types: nuclear electric propulsion reactors (NEP) and nuclear thermal propulsion reactors (NTP). The former work by generating electricity that removes electrons from noble gases (such as xenon and krypton). And then it throws them out of the spacecraft engine in the form of an ion beam. The latter use a fission reaction to heat a gas (usually hydrogen or ammonia). The gas expands and exits through the nozzle, providing the necessary thrust.

The Artemis 1 flight late last year was the first of three missions to test hardware, software and ground systems designed to establish a base on the Moon and get the first humans to Mars. This first test flight will be followed in the coming years by Artemis 2 and Artemis 3. Artemis 2 will make the same journey as Artemis 1, but with a crew of four, while Artemis 3 will send the first woman and the first “colored” person to the surface of the moon.



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