NASA is keenly interested in nuclear thermal power for missions to Mars. Using today’s chemically fueled rockets, flights to the Red Planet could take up to seven months or more, which would potentially expose astronauts to long periods of radiation. Having humans cooped up in confined spaces for months could also lead to mental health issues and disagreements among crew members.
One of the main challenges of sending humans to Mars is the great distance between the planets. Earth and Mars are only on the same side of the sun every 26 months. But even at their closest points, a spacecraft aiming for Mars would have to follow a long elliptical orbit around the sun totaling hundreds of millions of miles.
“In order for our country, for our species, to further explore space we need changes in more efficient propulsion,” Kirk Shireman, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of lunar exploration campaigns, told reporters Wednesday. “Higher thrust propulsion is really, really important. And I think we’re on the cusp of that here.”
To read more, click here.