General Atomics Reaches Milestone In Nuclear Propulsion, Bringing Mars Closer Than Ever

Reaching Mars will be a difficult feat; however, a nuclear fuel that may propel humans to the red planet has recently hit an important milestone. General Atomics announced they’ve successfully put the fuel through its paces via several high-impact tests. Sending rockets to Mars will be significantly challenging due to a number of factors – distance being one of them. Yet, General Atomics’ new Nuclear Thermal Propulsion reactor technology could see rockets possibly reaching Mars within 45 days. 

What Has General Atomics Achieved With Their Nuclear Fuel?

General Atomics said in a statement that they successfully performed several high-impact tests of the nuclear fuel at the Marshall Space Flight Centre. Once in operation, they added the fuel could be applied to: “rapid, agile cislunar transportation and deep space missions, including human missions to Mars.” NASA joined the testing regime to verify the outcome. In addition, NASA’s support extended to surveying whether the fuel could withstand space’s extreme and harsh conditions.  

President of General Atomics, Scott Forney, said: “The recent testing results represent a critical milestone in successfully demonstrating fuel design for NTP reactors. Fuel must survive extremely high temperatures and the hot hydrogen gas environment that an NTP reactor operating in space would typically encounter. We’re very encouraged by the positive test results proving the fuel can survive these operational conditions, moving us closer to realising the potential of safe, reliable nuclear thermal propulsion for cislunar and deep space missions.” That being a potential odyssey to Mars.

How The Tests Were Conducted

General Atomics noted they conducted the tests with hot hydrogen flow, allowing it to permeate the samples. Thereafter, the fuel was exposed to “six thermal cycles that rapidly ramped up to a peak temperature”. During the tests, the fuel hit extreme temperatures of 4220 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 2326 degrees Celsius). 

In addition, General Atomics simultaneously included a 20-minute hold at peak performance. This allowed scientists and engineers to test the effectiveness of the fuel shielding so that it doesn’t succumb to “erosion and degradation by the hot hydrogen,” General Atomics said. 

To obtain a complete picture, they also varied the protective measures to collate more data on “how different material enhancements improve performance under reactor-like conditions,” General Atomics added.  

Heading To Mars

It’s no surprise that General Atomics Nuclear Thermal Propulsion has garnered attention. Just recently, US President, Donald Trump, placed his support behind a Mars mission during his first day in office. Equally, his new Department of Government Efficiency and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, hasn’t shied away from exclaiming his desire to head to the red planet. 

As such, the welcomed news of a new nuclear propulsion fuel hitting the mark in testing may see a possible Mars mission on the horizon. However, further validations are needed to ensure it can withstand the demands of space flight. Christina Back, Vice-Chair of General Atomics, concluded: “We are excited to continue our collaboration with NASA as we mature and test the fuel to meet the performance requirements for future cislunar and Mars mission architectures.”