By 2035, NASA wants to land with humans on Mars. But reaching the red planet, which is about 140 million kilometers away on average, will not be so easy for humanity. Colder than Antarctica and with little to no oxygen, Mars is a hostile environment. The longer astronauts take their journey there, and the longer they stay, the more they will be at risk. Researchers are therefore looking for ways to keep travel times to a minimum.
The solution is offered by the American company Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-Tech), which invented a new type of nuclear thermal drive (NTP) engine. He could shorten his trip to Mars to just three months. Michael Eades, CTO of USNC-Tech, says nuclear-powered rockets would be more powerful and twice as efficient as today’s chemical engines, meaning they could travel farther and faster and burn less fuel.
“Nuclear technology will extend humanity’s reach beyond Earth’s orbit into deep space,” CNN said. In addition to allowing space travel, it could open up space for galactic business opportunities, he says.
Most of today’s rockets are powered by chemical engines. You could get to Mars, but it would take a long time – at least three years and on the way back – says Jeff Sheehy, chief engineer at NASA’s Space Technology Mission. NASA wants to get there faster to minimize crew time in space.
Scientists are looking at ways to reduce trip time to Mars. One company has proposed a nuclear thermal propulsion engine that could get humans there in just three months. https://t.co/AB9F5m2dY5
– CNN International (@cnni) February 4, 2021
This would reduce their exposure to cosmic radiation, which could cause health problems, including radiation sickness, an increased lifetime risk of cancer, central nervous system effects, and degenerative diseases.
It would also reduce the overall risk of the mission. “The longer you are out, the more time there is left for something to go wrong,” adds SheehyMars. That’s why the space agency is working to develop nuclear-powered rockets. The NTP system uses a nuclear reactor to produce heat from uranium fuel. propulsion, usually liquid hydrogen, which then expands into the escaping gas, propelling the rocket forward.
NASA is transmitting a reconnaissance device to Mars. He should land on February 18:
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