NASA will work with a Pentagon research agency to develop a nuclearpowered rocket motor to send astronauts to Mars, both agencies announced Tuesday.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the US space agency will work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to “develop and test advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology beginning in 2027.”
“Using this new technology, astronauts could travel in and out of space faster than ever before, an important capability in preparation for manned missions to Mars,” Nelson said.
DARPA is the research and development arm of the Pentagon and played an important role in many 20th century innovations such as the Internet.
According to NASA, nuclear thermal rockets could be three times or more efficient than those with traditional chemical propulsion and reduce travel time, which is essential for an eventual mission to Mars.
In a nuclear heat engine, a fission reactor is used to generate extremely high temperatures. Heat from the reactor is transferred to the liquid propellant, which is then converted into a gas that expands through a nozzle and provides thrust.
“DARPA and NASA have a long history of fruitful collaboration,” said Pentagon agency director Stefanie Tompkins, who cited the Saturn 5 rocket that took the first astronauts to the moon as an example of the partnership between the agencies.
“The nuclear thermal rocket program will be essential to more efficiently and quickly get material to the moon and eventually people to Mars,” Tompkins added.
NASA conducted the last tests of nuclear thermal rocket engines more than 50 years ago, but abandoned the program due to budget cuts and Cold War tensions.