Space rockets may soon use nuclear-powered engines based on nuclear thermal propulsion, or NTP technology. While no nuclear engine will fly this year, the field is approaching a major milestone, with ...

I’ve grown up with rockets that burn chemical fuel, but NASA’s next big leap in propulsion could make those engines look as dated as steam trains. By turning to nuclear power in space, the agency is ...

Viewed from orbit, Jackass Flats — situated in southern Nevada about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas — could easily be confused for Mars. The alluvial basin is full of tan and gray regolith, hued ...

Jim Bickford is leading the Thin Film Isotope Nuclear Engine Rocket (TFINER) project to develop a system for propelling a craft through space faster and farther than ever before. This technology has ...

Nuclear propulsion and power technologies could unlock new frontiers in missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA has reached an important milestone advancing nuclear propulsion that could benefit ...

A new study published this month has issued an urgent call for future endeavors in space exploration to take nuclear space travel seriously. Similar to a previous study which called for scientists to ...

While NASA, along with its international and commercial partners, is going pedal to the metal back to the moon, the space agency is not neglecting Mars. In 2028, if all goes well, NASA plans to test a ...

NASA NIAC funded the Thin-Film Nuclear Engine Rocket (TFINER). By May 2025, it advanced to Phase II, focusing on maturing the technology, mission designs, small-scale thruster experiments, and isotope ...

Nasa is developing ways to use nuclear power to send spacecraft to their destinations. Nuclear propulsion could greatly reduce the journey time to Mars, perhaps cutting a voyage of more than six ...

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Every year, companies and space agencies launch ...

Denis Kutovoy, deputy director of the corporation’s space systems department, made this announcement at the Russian Space Forum MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Russia’s Roscosmos, together with the Kurchatov ...