What happens when you combine NASA's space expertise and Pentagon's military prowess? It is likely that you would get a technological advancement in epic proportions!
The US space agency has laid out its vision to build and demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket to expand the horizons for future space flight missions. Now, it will team up with Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to make this ambition a possibility.
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PYEONGTAEK, SOUTH KOREA - DECEMBER 14: U.S. soldiers attend the activation ceremony for the United States Space Forces Korea on December 14, 2022 in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
Interagency Agreement
Space.com reports that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson unveiled the plan on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at the 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum and Exposition in National Harbor, Maryland.
NASA will participate in DARPA's Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, or DRACO, a program that started in 2021. The goal of the initiative is to create a nuclear thermal engine for a DARPA experimental spacecraft.
The nuclear reactor and engine for the space rocket will be developed by DARPA, which NASA aims to test in space as early as 2027.
Nelson referred to the partnership as a significant investment in getting to Mars as well as a thrilling investment in the future of human space flight missions.
An interagency agreement between NASA and DARPA was published underlining the roles and responsibilities of each organization and giving NASA final control over the creation and development of the nuclear thermal rocket engine.
The experimental NTR vehicle (X-NTRV), a spacecraft that will be propelled by the proposed nuclear rocket engine, is given to DARPA under the terms of the agreement, and it will be in charge of its operation and eventual decommissioning in orbit.
Nuclear Rocket Plans
Space.com notes that plans for a nuclear rocket are not new since it has been brought up for decades. For instance, a crewed Mars expedition was intended to be launched in 1979 using a nuclear rocket as part of NASA's NERVA program, which stands for Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application.
But such an ambitious plan was unfortunately scrapped due to the lack of funding and the looming Cold War in 1972.
Government space agencies and commercial spaceflight companies share the common aim of sending people to Mars. The "Moon to Mars" initiative of NASA includes the Artemis program, which will use the knowledge gained from the agency's planned lunar exploration to further human habitation on the Red Planet.
SpaceX has also laid out its plans to "colonize Mars". It will soon launch the orbital flight of the Starship and other private space businesses are vying to outdo SpaceX in this goal.
Related Article: NASA Will Land On The Moon For The First Time in 50 Years l Here's Everything You Need To Know About Artemis 1
