nasa revealed plans to create a nuclear engine that can deliver astronauts to Mars In just 45 days. The agency plans to present a working engine already in 2027.
Modern NASA missile systems (including the Space Launch system, which last year sent the Artemis-1 missile to historical flight to the moon) are based on the traditional method of chemical movement. In it, the oxidizing agent is mixed with combustible rocket fuel to create a flaming jet of thrust. The proposed nuclear system will use the chain reaction from the rupture of atoms to power the nuclear reactor. It is planned that such an engine will be at least three times more effective and, according to the agency, will be able to reduce the flight time to Mars from the current seven months to 45 days.
“Darpa and NASA have a long history of fruitful cooperation. From the Saturn -5 rocket, which first delivered people to the moon, to robotic service and refueling of satellites,” –
NASA began its research in the field of nuclear heat engines back in 1959. This led to the design and creation of a nuclear engine for missile vehicles (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application, Nerva), a solid fuel nuclear reactor, which was successfully tested on Earth. However, the engine starting plans in space were mothballed after the end of the Apollo Era in 1973 and a sharp reduction in the financing of the program.
Nuclear engines can work more efficiently than their chemical counterparts. They are divided into two types: reactors with nuclear electric engines (NEP) and reactors with nuclear heat engines (NTP). The former work due to the production of electricity, which removes electrons from noble gases (such as xenon and crypton). And then throws them out of the engine of a spacecraft in the form of an ion beam. The latter use the division reaction to heating gas (usually hydrogen or ammonia). The gas expands and goes through the nozzle, providing the necessary traction.
Artemis-1 flight at the end of last year was the first of three missions for testing equipment, software and ground systems designed to create a base on the moon and deliver the first people to Mars. This first test flight in the coming years will follow Artemis-2 and Artemis-3. “Artemis-2” will make the same journey as “Artemis-1”, but with a crew of four, and “Artemis-3” will send the first woman and the first “color” man to the surface of the moon.