NASA has revealed plans to test a nuclear-powered rocket that could get people to Mars in just 45 days³³⁴. This is a big step forward. This news is a big step forward for space travel and brings us one step closer to our goal of sending people to Mars².
The agency is working on the rocket with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) from the Pentagon. The Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rocket is the name of the suggested nuclear system. It will use the chain reaction that happens when atoms break apart to power a nuclear fission reactor². The agency² says that this reactor would be “three or more times more efficient” and could cut the time it takes to get to Mars from seven months to a part of that.
Fivety years² have passed since the last test of a nuclear-powered engine. In 1959, NASA started looking into nuclear heat engines. This led to the design and building of the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA), a solid-core nuclear reactor that was tried and found to work properly on Earth². But plans to start the engine in space were put on hold when the Apollo era ended in 1973 and the program’s funding was cut sharply².
The nuclear-powered ship could take both people and cargo around the Solar System without having to worry about the risks of space travel, such as being exposed to radiation. It will be necessary to make huge steps forward in space technology in order to get things to the moon and, finally, people to Mars² more quickly and efficiently.
Chemical propulsion² is a method that has been used for over a hundred years and is still used by NASA. What about the planned nuclear system? It would be a big step forward in technology². Nuclear engines can burn more efficiently and for longer amounts of time than chemical engines, which makes rockets go faster and farther².
Finally, NASA’s plans to test a vehicle powered by nuclear energy for trips to Mars are a big step forward in space exploration . As time goes on, it will be interesting to see how this new discovery affects the future of traveling between planets.
