New NASA Nuclear Rocket Plan Aims to Get to Mars in Just 45 Days - ScienceAlert

These and other missions that will take astronauts beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the Earth-Moon system require new technologies, ranging from life support and radiation shielding to power and propulsion.

Several attempts have been made to build a test this propulsion system, including Project Rover, a collaborative effort between the US Air Force and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) that launched in 1955.

Nuclear-Electric Propulsion (NEP), on the other hand, relies on a nuclear reactor to provide electricity to a Hall-Effect thruster(ion engine), which generates an electromagnetic field that ionizes and accelerates an inert gas (like xenon) to create thrust.

Both systems have considerable advantages over conventional chemical propulsion, including a higher specific impulse (Isp) rating, fuel efficiency, and virtually unlimited energy density.

Gosse's proposal calls for a bimodal design based on a solid core NERVA reactor that would provide a specific impulse (Isp) of 900 seconds, twice the current performance of chemical rockets.

This bimodal design enables the fast transit for manned missions (45 days to Mars) and revolutionizes the deep space exploration of our Solar System."