RTThu, 03 Mar 2016 14:04 UTC
© Sputnik
A nuclear power propulsion system could propel a spacecraft to Mars in just over a month, a huge step forward from the current 18 months required. Russia might test a nuclear engine as early as 2018, the head of the Rosatom nuclear corporation revealed. Another advantage of a nuclear engine is that it
enables a spacecraft to maneuver throughout the flight, whereas existing technology only makes a defined trajectory flight possible.
"A nuclear power unit makes it possible to
reach Mars in a matter of one to one and a half months, providing capability for maneuvering and acceleration," the head of Rosatom Sergey Kirienko said. "Today's engines can only reach Mars in a year and a half, without the possibility of return," Kirienko said.
The nuclear engine project was launched in 2010 and by 2012 an engineering design had been created. The project's budget is estimated at 20 billion rubles (about $US274 million). It has been reported that a
prototype nuclear drive could start testing by 2018. Traditional rocket engines are believed to have reached the limit of their potential and can't be used for deep space exploration.
An operable module with a nuclear drive would facilitate space exploration both for close-range expeditions to the Moon and deep-space autonomous robotic missions to the outskirts of the Solar system.
© A. Solomonov / SputnikThe Topaz-1 nuclear space reactor.
Using nuclear energy in space was a big deal in the Soviet Union, which launched a nuclear engine project in 1960 and fulfilled it by 1980. An operable engine was tested at the Semipalatinsk nuclear military range. Between 1970 and 1988, the USSR launched 32 spacecraft equipped with thermo-electric nuclear power plants.
Comment: Anatoly Perminov first
proposed building the ship at a government meeting in 2009:
"The project is aimed at implementing large-scale space exploration programs, including a manned mission to Mars, interplanetary travel, the creation and operation of planetary outposts,"
Soviet work on a nuclear-powered electric rocket engine dates back to the 1960s, when Soviet engineers began developing plans for a manned flight to Mars.
Last year they were axing this project, now they apparently revived it? Can't decide what they want, eh?
Anyway, this is really just a ion thruster engine, only the power (used to ionize and expel the propellant, probably xenon) is from nuclear device. I don't believe it could achieve high enough thrust to get to Mars in 1.5 months - I've read somewhere it is a "megawatt" class engine, but actual power would be smaller. This is at least an order of magnitude smaller power than VASIMR engine, which could theoretically take the craft to Mars in 1.5 months. Yes, it is possible to do it with a big nuclear reactor, like the one used on subs or even ice-breakers (which are much bigger than the submarine ones), but whenever Russians are talking about nuclear reactor in space they either talk about this small "megawatt class" one, or do not give any numbers at all.
Well, I hope this time they are more persistent and we'll see if they are overly optimistic or not.