There are two main types of nuclear space propulsion: thermal and electric. Once in space, a nuclear propulsion system would take over. Conventional chemical rockets make sense for escaping the Earth’s atmosphere because they produce a lot of thrust-yet they also require a lot of heavy fuel and aren’t very efficient. The journey starts with a more-or-less conventional rocket that will launch astronauts into space. Photo Credit: NASA Blasting off from Earth Illustration of a conceptual spacecraft enabled by nuclear thermal propulsion. Why fission? The short answer is because fission technology is relatively lightweight, reliable, and better suited to meet the needs of the mission than the current alternatives-RTGs, solar panels, chemical batteries, and chemical rockets.įor the long answer, it helps to understand the requirements of the Mars mission. Most importantly, instead of producing heat through the radioactive decay of plutonium, these reactors would use uranium to produce heat via fission, similar to how nuclear power reactors operate on Earth. The reactors for a human mission to Mars would be very different from RTGs. They have provided power and heat for both of the Voyager spacecrafts, Cassini, Galileo, the Viking landers, Mars Curiosity Rover, Mars Perseverance Rover, New Horizons, and more than two dozen additional satellites, spacecrafts, and vehicles. RTGs are used whenever lack of sunlight, rugged conditions, or the length of the mission necessitates a robust, long-lived power supply. RTGs convert heat from the radioactive decay of Pu-238 into electricity using specialized thermocouples-devices that make electricity without moving parts that might fail during a long space mission. NASA has safely used nuclear power in space since the 1960s, mostly in the form of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). The second power source would generate electricity for a research station on the Martian surface. The first is a propulsion system that overcomes the many limitations of conventional rockets for the 68 million mile round trip. The mission will require two special power sources. The monumental trip presents NASA and its partners with a host of challenges, not the least of which is power. NASA’s goal of getting humans safely to the surface of Mars and back again sometime before 2040 has set the stage for one of the greatest engineering feats in history, and nuclear is the best bet for a successful mission.
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