General Atomics and NASA have successfully tested a new type of nuclear thermal propulsion reactor fuel at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. The new fuel could help power propulsion systems capable of taking humans to Mars in just 45 days.
This is huge news because sending humans to the Red Planet using conventional rockets would require upwards of six months in transit to reach the planet. From there, humans would have a limited amount of time before they had to take another six-month trek back across the stars to reach Earth again.
Troubleshooting issues at that distance would be extremely difficult, considering the possible 20-minute communication gap. But if NASA and others can develop nuclear propulsion engines that can speed up the travel time to other planets, it might make deep space travel more viable.
According to a post shared by General Atomics this week, the test was successful. The thermal reactor fuel they’ve created can survive under peak temperatures of 2,600 Kelvin (4,220 Fahrenheit). The company says that each cycle it tested included a 20-minute hold at peak performance.
This effectively demonstrates the shielding of the fuel material from erosion and degradation by the hot hydrogen used in the fuel. General Atomics also performed other tests to showcase how the nuclear propulsion fuel would interact under reactor-like conditions.
Of course, we’re still a long way off from building a proper rocket propulsion system. But if General Atomics and NASA’s success is any indicator, it does seem we are on the right track to creating next-generation rockets that will carry humans further and faster into space than ever before.
All we can do now is wait to see how NASA and other agencies put this information to use. With the future of NASA’s space endeavors in flux following the start of Trump’s second presidency, it’s unclear exactly how future missions from the agency will be run or if it will rely on companies like SpaceX to create nuclear propulsion systems for its future endeavors.
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