Rolls-Royce and the UK Space Agency join forces to develop a nuclear-powered spacecraft engine that could take us to Mars in just three months
- Companies will explore the potential of nuclear power as an energy source
- A nuclear-powered spacecraft engine could halve travel times to Mars
- They could also reduce the radiation dose that astronauts take
The British aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has formed an unlikely alliance with the UK Space Agency to develop nuclear-powered spacecraft engines.
In collaboration, the two organizations will work together to explore the potential of nuclear energy as an energy source for future deep space expeditions.
If successful, a nuclear spacecraft could reduce travel time to Mars to just three or four months, about half the time possible using current chemical engines.
In addition, reduced travel times would mean that astronauts aboard the spacecraft would be exposed to less radiation during flight, making future trips to Mars or other planets safer.
If successful, a nuclear-powered spacecraft engine could reduce travel time to Mars to just three or four months, about half the time possible using current systems.
Nuclear propulsion has previously been described by NASA as a “game-changing technology for deep space exploration.”
It is about channeling the release of energy by dividing the atom to accelerate the propellants at a huge speed.
Rolls-Royce and the UK Space Agency predict that this type of engine could be twice as efficient as the chemical engines currently used to power rockets, reducing travel times by half.
Dr Graham Turnock, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said: “Nuclear power and space propulsion are a game-changing concept that could unlock future space missions to take us to Mars and beyond.
“This study will help us understand the exciting potential of atomic spacecraft and whether this nascent technology could help us travel farther and faster through space than ever before.”
A nuclear-powered engine could also make deep space travel safer for astronauts.
With travel times halved, astronauts would be exposed to a lower dose of radiation, which could protect them from both radiation sickness and cancer.
Rolls-Royce and the UK Space Agency predict that this type of engine could be twice as efficient as the chemical engines currently used to power rockets, reducing travel times by half.
“Space radiation can place astronauts at a significant risk of radiation sickness and an increased risk of cancer, central nervous system effects, and lifelong degenerative diseases,” NASA explained.
Dave Gordon, Senior Vice President of UK, Rolls-Royce Defense, said: “We are delighted to be working with the UK Space Agency on this pioneering project to define future nuclear energy technologies for space.
“We believe there is a real niche in the UK in this area and this initiative can be based on the UK ‘s strong nuclear network and supply chain.
“We look forward to developing this and other exciting space projects in the future as we continue to develop the power to protect our planet, protect our world, and explore our Universe.”
The idea of a nuclear-powered spacecraft engine is not new.
NASA launched a program in 1961 to develop a nuclear engine, although the program ended in 1972 due to space budget cuts.
Now, more than 45 years later, NASA is once again working on a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system.
“We are working on a first-generation NTP system that has great growth potential,” said Doyce ‘Sonny’ Mitchell, project manager for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.
NASA’s schedule for the project is still unclear.
NASA plans to send a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s after landing on the moon for the first time
Mars has become the next giant leap for space exploration by humanity.
But before humans reach the red planet, the astronauts will take a series of small steps back to the Moon for a one-year mission.
Details of a lunar orbiting mission have been released as part of a chronology of events that led to missions to Mars in the 2030s.
NASA has outlined its four-stage plan (pictured) that it hopes will one day allow humans to visit Mars at the Humans to Mars Summit held yesterday in Washington DC. This will lead to multiple missions to the moon over the next few decades
In May 2017, Greg Williams, NASA’s deputy chief policy and planning administrator, outlined the space agency’s four-stage plan that hopes to one day allow humans to visit Mars, as well as its planned deadline.
First and second phase it will involve multiple trips to lunar space, to allow for the construction of a habitat that will provide a stair area for the trip.
The last piece of hardware delivered would be the actual deep space transport vehicle that would later be used to carry a crew to Mars.
And a simulation of life on Mars for a year will take place in 2027.
The third and fourth phases will begin after 2030 and will involve sustained crew expeditions to the Martian system and to the surface of Mars.