Nuclear-powered spaceships
NASA has announced plans to build Space Reactor-1 Freedom, the first nuclear-reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft, aiming for an uncrewed mission to Mars by 2028. This technology could drastically cut travel time and reduce astronauts' exposure to cosmic radiation.
Why it matters
Nuclear propulsion represents a massive leap forward in space exploration, potentially making crewed interplanetary travel to Mars and beyond much faster and safer.
Space Nuclear-powered spaceships A new era of spaceflight could save astronauts time and cut exposure to cosmic radiation as they rocket to Mars—and beyond.
Just before the Artemis II crew began its historic slingshot around the moon this past April, NASA announced plans to build Space Reactor-1 Freedom. SR-1, the first-ever nuclear-reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft, is meant to fly an uncrewed mission to Mars by the end of 2028, arriving in 2029. A successful mission would herald a new era of more efficient, potentially faster spaceflight—saving astronauts time and cutting their exposure to harmful cosmic radiation as they travel to Mars and beyond. “You wake up to that announcement, and it puts a big smile on your face,” says Simon Middleburgh, co-director of the Nuclear Futures Institute at Bangor University in Wales.
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