Man on Mars moves a step closer to reality as NASA announces plans for a nuclear missile that will cut the seven-month travel time
NASA announced Tuesday it is building a nuclear-powered rocket that could send humans to Mars much faster than the traditional spacecraft — it currently takes seven months to reach the Red Planet.
The American space agency has partnered with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program, to be tested in 2027.
A nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) offers a high thrust-to-weight ratio, approximately 10,000 times greater than electric propulsion and two to five times greater efficiency than chemical propulsion in space.
The team plans to use previous NTR models to design DRACO while giving it a modern twist – the last technology tested on site was more than 50 years ago.
NASA and DARPA are working on a nuclear missile that could get people to Mars much faster – drastically shortening the current seven-month journey
The space agency has studied the concept of nuclear thermal propulsion for decades.
This technology funnels heat from a nuclear fission reactor into a hydrogen propellant to provide thrust that is believed to be far more efficient than traditional chemical-based rocket engines.
In addition to a faster transit, the groups said NTR would reduce risk for astronauts since they won’t be traveling through space for as long.
This would significantly reduce the time astronauts would be exposed to space radiation and would require fewer supplies, such as food and other cargo, during a trip to Mars.
NASA is eyeing the late 2030s when it will send humans to the Martian world.
“If we have faster travel for people, they are safer travel,” NASA Deputy Administrator and former astronaut Pam Melroy said Tuesday.
NTR transfers heat from the reactor directly to a gaseous hydrogen propellant.
Heated hydrogen expands through a nozzle to provide thrust to propel a spacecraft.
And materials inside the fission reactor must be able to withstand temperatures in excess of 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
NASA has had NTR on its radar for more than 60 years and first launched the mission in 1961.
This prompted then-director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun to champion a proposed mission that would send a dozen crew members to Mars aboard two rockets.
Each rocket would be powered by three NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) engines – designs designed in 1961.
As detailed by von Braun, this expeditionary force would launch for the Red Planet in November 1981 and land on that distant world in August 1982.
Presenting his visionary plan to a space working group in August 1969, von Braun stated: “While the accomplishment of this mission will be a major national challenge, it poses no greater challenge than the 1961 commitment to land a man on the moon .’
However, that vision of human boots on Mars ended in 1972 as priorities shifted and space budgets were cut.
A nuclear-powered rocket would significantly reduce the time astronauts would be exposed to space radiation and would require fewer supplies, such as food and other cargo, during a trip to Mars
Fast forward to the present, and NASA is back on its way to the Red Planet and has enlisted the help of the US government to make it happen.
dr Stefanie Tompkins, Director at DARPA, said in a statement: “DARPA and NASA have a long history of fruitful collaboration in advancing technology for our respective goals, from the Saturn V rocket that brought humans to the moon for the first time to to robot maintenance and refueling of satellites.
“Space is critical to modern commerce, scientific discovery and national security.
‘The ability to make leapfrogging advances in space technology through the DRACO nuclear thermal missile program will be critical to more efficiently and rapidly transporting material to the Moon and eventually humans to Mars.’