 48.jpg "Man on Mars (NASA) 48")
Space travel to Mars and beyond may only be possible through the use of nuclear rocket technology, NASA suggests. Such spacecraft would be much faster than conventional craft, cutting the length of the mission and thereby reducing radiation exposure to astronauts.
_67x48.jpg "Launch 2020 rover (NASA) 67x48")
A nuclear power source is likely to sustain NASA's next exploration of Mars - a robot that will take a package of samples for return to Earth and address gaps in the knowledge required for manned exploration.
A team of researchers from NASA and Los Alamos National Laboratory have demonstrated a new reactor concept that combines a Stirling engine with modern heat pipe cooling technology to provide a power source for future space missions.
Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover has carried out the first ever measurements of radiation on another planet. Its findings suggest that astronauts would be able to live on the surface of Mars for long enough to carry out extended missions..jpg "Curiosity rover (NASA)")
With one week before its launch, NASA's latest craft bound for Mars has been fitted with the nuclear battery that will keep the transport vehicle warm in space and power a rover for up to 14 years..jpg "Mars Hopper (INL)")
Small rovers that hop from place to place are being developed for future Mars missions. Powered by nuclear energy, they could map the entire planet in a few years..jpg "Lunar reactor (NASA)")
NASA engineers are actively investigating nuclear fission as a possible source of energy for a lunar outpost and the agency has signed contracts for the first stages of the development of a demonstration system.