NASA and Darpa are building a nuclear-powered rocket engine: halving travel time to Mars – Business AM

par Marc Horckmans
published on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at 17:14 •
4 min read

The United States plans to test a nuclear-powered rocket engine within four years. The engine could be used, among other things, for trips to new destinations in space. So said Bill Nelson, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

To develop the rocket engine, the US space agency is working with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).

Why is this important?

NASA experts see nuclear thermal propulsion as a crucial method for sending humans beyond the Moon and to other destinations in space. A mission to Mars from Earth would still take about four months with nuclear technology, compared to about nine months with a conventional rocket engine.

A more efficient engine: According to Nelson, these tests are part of a long-term effort the US space agency plans to deploy to find more efficient methods of one day delivering astronauts to destinations such as Mars.

• “To build a nuclear thermal propulsion engine, at NASA will establish a collaboration with Darpa, the research and development division of the American army”, specified

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