NASA is starting to implement its flight plans for Mars. The US space agency is testing a nuclear thermal rocket engine for use in manned missions to Mars. Collaborating with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to produce the engine, NASA plans to complete the tests in 2027.
NASA and DARPA will produce nuclear thermal rocket engine
NASA has started to develop the rocket engine to be used in its flights to Mars as part of the DRACO program. NASA’s Space Technology Directorate will lead technical development of the engine, which will be integrated with DARPA’s experimental spacecraft.
Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) can allow spacecraft to move faster, reducing the amount of material needed for a long mission. It can also provide space for more equipment and extra power for communications.
Nuclear thermal technology was first used in the 1940s and 1950s, but was shelved in 1972 due to budget cuts. NASA and DARPA’s joint advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology is expected to be unveiled in 2027.
NASA has been researching the surface of Mars for a long time. In this process, information about the red planet is collected both from the air and from the ground with tools such as Perseverance, Curiosity, Ingenuity and InSight. But the agency has officially announced the end of its InSight mission after four years to Mars.
In addition, NASA has approved a small modular nuclear design for the first time. Each module of the new modular reactor, which will be about one-third the size of a standard reactor, is capable of producing approximately 50 megawatts of power.
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