25/01/2023 08:33 NASA, DARPA Will Test Nuclear Engine for Future Mars Missions | NASA

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NASA, DARPA Will Test Nuclear Engine RELEASE 23-012
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NASA Selects Experimental Space

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16 days ago caption.jpg)
Artist concept of Demonstration for Rocket to Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO)
spacecraft, which will demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket engine. Nuclear thermal
(/press-release/nasa-selects-
propulsion technology could be used for future NASA crewed missions to Mars.
experimental-space-technology- Credits: DARPA
concepts-for-initial-study)

NASA, ICON Advance Lunar NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Construction Technology for Moon (DARPA) announced Tuesday a collaboration to demonstrate a
Missions nuclear thermal rocket engine in space, an enabling capability for
2 months ago NASA crewed missions to Mars.
(/press-release/nasa-icon-advance-
lunar-construction-technology-for- NASA and DARPA will partner on the Demonstration Rocket for
moon-missions) Agile Cislunar Operations, or DRACO, program. The non-
reimbursable agreement
CAPSTONE Forges New Path for (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/darpa-
NASA’s Future Artemis Moon Missions nasa_draco_nonreimbursable_interagency_agreement_final_2023-
2 months ago 01-11_.pdf) designed to benefit both agencies, outlines roles,
responsibilities, and processes aimed at speeding up
(/press-release/capstone-forges- development efforts. 
new-path-for-nasa-s-future-artemis-
moon-missions) “NASA will work with our long-term partner, DARPA, to develop
and demonstrate advanced nuclear thermal propulsion
NASA to Share First Results of technology as soon as 2027. With the help of this new technology,
Inflatable Heat Shield Technology Test astronauts could journey to and from deep space faster than ever
2 months ago – a major capability to prepare for crewed missions to Mars,” said

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-darpa-will-test-nuclear-engine-for-future-mars-missions 1/4
25/01/2023 08:33 NASA, DARPA Will Test Nuclear Engine for Future Mars Missions | NASA
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Congratulations to both NASA
and DARPA on this exciting investment, as we ignite the future,
together.”

Using a nuclear thermal rocket

(https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/nuclear-
propulsion-could-help-get-humans-to-mars-faster/) allows for
faster transit time, reducing risk for astronauts. Reducing transit
time is a key component for human missions to Mars, as longer
trips require more supplies and more robust systems. Maturing
faster, more efficient transportation technology will help NASA
meet its Moon to Mars Objectives (https://www.nasa.gov/press-
release/nasa-s-stakeholder-collaborations-help-inform-moon-to-
mars-planning).

Other benefits to space travel include increased science payload

capacity and higher power for instrumentation and
communication. In a nuclear thermal rocket engine, a fission
reactor is used to generate extremely high temperatures. The
engine transfers the heat produced by the reactor to a liquid
propellant, which is expanded and exhausted through a nozzle to
propel the spacecraft. Nuclear thermal rockets can be three or
more times more efficient than conventional chemical propulsion.

“NASA has a long history of collaborating with DARPA on projects

that enable our respective missions, such as in-space servicing,”
said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “Expanding our
partnership to nuclear propulsion will help drive forward NASA's
goal to send humans to Mars.”

Under the agreement, NASA’s Space Technology Mission

Directorate (STMD) will lead technical development of the nuclear
thermal engine to be integrated with DARPA’s experimental
spacecraft. DARPA is acting as the contracting authority for the
development of the entire stage and the engine, which includes
the reactor. DARPA will lead the overall program including rocket
systems integration and procurement, approvals, scheduling, and
security, cover safety and liability, and ensure overall assembly
and integration of the engine with the spacecraft. Over the course
of the development, NASA and DARPA will collaborate on
assembly of the engine before the in-space demonstration as
early as 2027. 

“DARPA and NASA have a long history of fruitful collaboration in

advancing technologies for our respective goals, from the Saturn
V rocket that took humans to the Moon for the first time to robotic
servicing and refueling of satellites,” said Dr. Stefanie Tompkins,
director, DARPA. “The space domain is critical to modern
commerce, scientific discovery, and national security. The ability
to accomplish leap-ahead advances in space technology through
the DRACO nuclear thermal rocket program will be essential for
more efficiently and quickly transporting material to the Moon and
eventually, people to Mars.”

The last nuclear thermal rocket engine tests conducted by the

United States occurred more than 50 years ago under NASA’s
Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application and Rover projects.

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-darpa-will-test-nuclear-engine-for-future-mars-missions 2/4
25/01/2023 08:33 NASA, DARPA Will Test Nuclear Engine for Future Mars Missions | NASA
“With this collaboration, we will leverage our expertise gained
from many previous space nuclear power and propulsion
projects,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for STMD.
"Recent aerospace materials and engineering advancements are
enabling a new era for space nuclear technology, and this flight
demonstration will be a major achievement toward establishing a
space transportation capability for an Earth-Moon economy.”

NASA, the Department of Energy (DOE), and industry are also

developing advanced space nuclear technologies for multiple
initiatives to harness power for space exploration. Through
NASA’s Fission Surface Power project, DOE awarded three
commercial design efforts (https://www.nasa.gov/press-
release/nasa-announces-artemis-concept-awards-for-nuclear-
power-on-moon) to develop nuclear power plant concepts that
could be used on the surface of the Moon and, later, Mars.

NASA and DOE are working another commercial design effort to

advance higher temperature fission fuels and reactor designs as
part of a nuclear thermal propulsion engine. These design efforts
are still under development to support a longer-range goal for
increased engine performance and will not be used for the
DRACO engine. 

To learn more about STMD, please visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech
(https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech)

-end-

Sarah Frazier
Headquarters, Washington
202-853-7191
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Tabatha Thompson
DARPA
703-526-2085
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Last Updated: Jan 24, 2023

Editor: Roxana Bardan

Tags:  Moon to Mars (/topics/moon-to-mars/), Space Tech

(/topics/technology/index.html)

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