A team of scientists and engineers at the U.S. Energy Department's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) holds the outcome of a new space race in its hands.
The team is spearheading a nationwide effort to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion spacecraft that could cut the travel time to Mars in half. It's a project that could dramatically alter the course of humanity, making us an interplanetary species capable of sustainably sending humans to the Red Planet.
But the U.S. isn't the only country aiming for Mars. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has exceeded expectations in recent years and has announced plans to send its own crewed mission to explore the Martian surface.
In a bid to develop the fastest and most efficient method for interplanetary space travel, the INL engineers chose to focus on nuclear thermal propulsion. It is capable of powering larger spacecraft, which is essential given the amount of cargo a human mission would have to take along for the ride.
"The primary benefit of nuclear rockets compared to chemical rockets is the amount of mass that can be carried at high velocity," Sebastian Corbisiero, senior technical advisor for advanced concepts at INL, told IE in an interview.
"With the physics we know today, we believe nuclear propulsion can provide the most capable means of delivering large-mass payloads to Mars in the shortest amount of time."
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