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already did so once-and so far only once-with the Air Force’s development and launch of a working prototype in 1965.) Instead the difficulty lies in navigating the complex web of regulations that surrounds all things nuclear and in ensuring any chosen approach for nuclear power beyond Earth does not needlessly limit NASA to just the lunar surface or any other lone deep-space destination. Surprisingly, no fundamental technology breakthroughs are required to build a nuclear reactor for spaceflight applications. The reason for this sudden urgency is simple: Without nuclear power, the space agency’s stated goal of establishing a moon base by the end of the decade-let alone putting boots on Mars-becomes difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. And in July 2021 congressional appropriators earmarked $110 million for NASA to advance development of a new nuclear rocket suitable for sending cargo and crew on interplanetary voyages. The project is now a top priority of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
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In 2020 the White House gave NASA a 10-year deadline to deliver a 10-kilowatt nuclear power system to the surface of the moon. Now, however, as NASA pursues its Apollo-esque Artemis program to build a crewed lunar outpost (with an eye toward eventual human landings on Mars), a rare alignment of technology, funding and political will is on the verge of making spaceborne nuclear reactors a routine reality. Yet more than 60 years into the space age, nuclear fission for spaceflight remains mostly a dream. And one of the most potent and reliable ways to get all those vital kilowatts is via nuclear fission-something aspiring astronauts realized long before anyone ever reached space (or developed nuclear weapons, for that matter). A steady, strong flow of electricity is as crucial for operating computers and engines as it is for assuring access to corporeal necessities such as light and heat, breathable air and potable water, and preparation or even growth of food. The pathway to humans on Mars lies through the atom, split.įar from Earth, whether in the void or on another world, power is life.