Rolls-Royce and the British space agency team up to develop a nuclear-powered spacecraft engine that could take us to Mars in just three months
- Companies will explore the potential of nuclear energy as an energy source
- A nuclear-powered spacecraft engine could halve its travel time to Mars
- It could also reduce the radiation dose taken by astronauts
The British aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has formed an unlikely alliance with the UK Space Agency to develop nuclear-powered spacecraft engines.
The collaboration will make the two organizations work together to explore the potential of nuclear energy as an energy source for future expeditions into deep space.
If successful, a nuclear spacecraft could reduce the duration of the trip to Mars to just three to four months – about half the time possible using current chemical engines.
Moreover, the short travel time would mean that astronauts aboard the spacecraft are exposed to less radiation during flight, which makes future trips to Mars or other planets safer.
If successful, a nuclear-powered spacecraft engine could reduce the duration of the trip to Mars to just three to four months – about half the time it would use using current systems.
Nuclear propulsion has previously been described by NASA as a “game-changing technology for deep space exploration.”
This involves channeling the release of energy into the splitting of the atom to accelerate the propellers to 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 missiles, halving travel times.
Dr Graham Turnock, executive director of the UK Space Agency, said: “Space nuclear energy and propulsion is a game-changing concept that could unlock future deep space missions that will take us to Mars and beyond.
“This study will help us understand the exciting potential of atomic-powered 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 time reduced by half, 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, halving travel time.
“Space radiation can put astronauts at a significant risk of radiation sickness and an increased risk of cancer, central nervous system effects and degenerative diseases for life,” NASA explained.
Dave Gordon, Senior Vice President of UK, Rolls-Royce Defense, said: “We are excited to work with the UK Space Agency on this pioneering project to define future nuclear energy technologies for space.
“We believe there is a real niche capacity in this area and this initiative can build on the strong nuclear network and supply chain in the UK.
“We look forward to developing this and other interesting space projects in the future as we continue to develop the power to protect our planet, secure 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-powered engine, although the program was completed 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, NTP project manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.
NASA’s timeline for the project remains unclear.
NASA intends to send an equipped mission to Mars in the 2030s after the first landing on the moon
Mars has become the next huge leap for space exploration by mankind.
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.
The details of a lunar orbit mission were revealed as part of the chronology of events that led to missions to Mars in the 2030s.
NASA has presented its plan in four stages (pictured), which it hopes will one day allow people to visit Mars at the Humans to Mars Summit held yesterday in Washington DC. This will involve multiple missions to the moon in the coming decades
In May 2017, Greg Williams, deputy associate administrator for policies and plans at NASA, outlined the four-stage space agency’s plan, which he hopes will one day allow people to visit Mars, as well as the expected time period.
Phase one and two will involve several trips in the lunar space, to allow the construction of a habitat that provides a staging area for the trip.
The last piece of hardware delivered would be the deep space transport vehicle that will later be used to transport a crew to Mars.
And a simulation of life on Mars will take a year in 2027.
Stages three and four will begin after 2030 and will involve sustained crew expeditions to the Martian system and the surface of Mars.