With dreams of Mars on the mindsof both NASAandElon Musk, long-distance crewed missions through space are coming.
Why the need for speed?
The first step of a space journey involves the use of launch rockets to get a ship into orbit.
It is once a ship reaches space that things get interesting.
To escape Earths gravity and reach deep space destinations, ships need additional acceleration.
This is where nuclear systems come into play.
Space ismassive, andeverything is far away.
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A better way to reduce radiation exposure is to simply get where you are going quicker.
But human safety isnt the only benefit.
It tookVoyager-2 12 years just to reach Neptune, where it snapped some incredible photos as it flew by.
But why are nuclear systems faster?
The Saturn V rocket was 363 feet tall and mostly just a gas tank.
Electric propulsion systems generate thrust using electricity produced from solar panels.
These devices arecommonly used to power satellitesand can have more than five times higher mass efficiency than chemical systems.
One of the reasons nuclear-powered rockets are promising is because they offer incredible energy density.
So what about thrust and mass efficiency?
The first nuclear thermal rocket was built in 1967 and is seen in the background.
In the foreground is the protective casing that would hold the reactor.
NASA/Wikipedia
Two options for nuclear
Engineers have designed two main types of nuclear systems for space travel.
The first is callednuclear thermal propulsion.
These systems are very powerful and moderately efficient.
Thats enough force to get a car from 0-60 mph in about a quarter of a second.
This would be very efficient, aboutthree times better than a nuclear thermal propulsion system.
An artists impression of what a nuclear thermal ship built to take humans to Mars could look like.
John Frassanito & Associates/Wikipedia
Why arent there nuclear powered rockets yet?
Nuclear thermal propulsion systems have been studied since the 1960s but have not yet flown in space.
That all changed when the Trump administration issued apresidential memorandumin August 2019.
Larger nuclear missions would go through the same process as before.
DARPA is also developing aspace nuclear thermal propulsion systemto enable national security operations beyond Earth orbit.
After 60 years of stagnation, its possible a nuclear-powered rocket will be heading to space within a decade.
This exciting achievement will usher in a new era of space exploration.
People will go to Mars and science experiments will make new discoveries all across our solar system and beyond.
