NASA has revealed plans to test nuclear-powered space rockets that can take astronauts to Mars in superfast time.

The space agency is working with the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) on a nuclear thermal rocket engine for spaceflight by 2027, NASA said on Tuesday.

The venture aims to develop groundbreaking propulsion in space with a technology very different from the existing chemical systems that have dominated the industry since the dawn of the modern age of rocket power for almost a century.

“Application of a nuclear thermal rocket reduces travel time, reducing the risk to astronauts“Reducing travel time is fundamental to human missions to Mars, as longer journeys require more supplies and more powerful systems.”

According to NASA, using modern technology, the 482.7 million km journey to Mars will take about seven months.. Engineers don’t yet know how much time can be saved using nuclear technology, but Bill Nelson, NASA administrator, said the transition would allow spacecraft to travel through deep space at record speeds.

“With this new technology, astronauts can travel to and from deep space faster than ever before, an important capability in preparation for manned missions to Mars,” Nelson added.

Less momentum but more time

The agency explains that nuclear-electric propulsion systems are much more efficient than chemical rockets, but provide less thrust. The reactor generates electricity that charges propellant gases such as xenon or krypton, pushing the ions outward, and the propulsion system propels the spacecraft forward.

Using efficient low-thrust nuclear-electric propulsion systems accelerates the spacecraft for long periods of time and can propel a mission to Mars with some of the fuel that would be required for high-thrust systems.

In a statement, Darpa director Dr. Stephanie Tompkins explained that the agreement is an extension of the existing cooperation between the organizations.

“Darpa and NASA have a long history of fruitful collaboration in advancing technology for our purposes, from the Saturn V rocket that first put humans on the Moon, to robotic maintenance and satellite refueling.”

“The space sector is vital to modern commerce, scientific discovery and national security. The possibility of rapid development of space technologies (…) will be essential for more efficient and faster transport of materials to the Moon and, ultimately, people to Mars.”

NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, which will send humans around the moon for the first time in more than half a century, is scheduled for 2024. The next Artemis 3 mission, which could follow next year, will take astronauts, including the first woman, to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.

NASA source