American engineers develop a nuclear electric engine that will reduce the length of flight on Mars from 7 months to 45 days. Spacens in partnership with NASA and the University of Michigan .
According to Interesting Engineering , new technology being developed as part of the Sustaned Pulsed Advanced Reactor . It aims to create a compact and powerful nuclear reactor for use in space. Nuclear electric motors use the reactor energy to create a plasma , which provides traction. Their efficiency is 25 times higher than that of conventional chemical engines. The key advantage is the flexibility in the planning of maneuvers : a spacecraft with such an engine is not limited to rigidly given trajectory and can change the course in real time.
Spacenukes already has experience in the projection of nuclear systems . Now the company creates new generation reactor capable of withstanding high temperatures. This will: reduce the weight of the engine; increase its energy efficiency; simplify integration with modern spacecraft . Spacenukes also collaborates with Astra Rocket Company , which develops a Vasimr nuclear plasma engine ( Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket). In combination with the reactor from Spacens, Vasimr will be able to disperse the ship up to 197 950 km/ h , which will allow you to reach Mars in only one and a half months.
Ideas for the use of nuclear energy in space have been discussed since the 1960s . However, only with the development of materials and technologies of the XXI century such projects become real . Nuclear electric motors are considered key for future missions in deep space - in particular, Mars , Europe ( satellite ) and Titan ( satellite ).
