NASA wants to take us to the stars. To achieve this, it has a new hybrid nuclear engine

Creating more powerful and efficient engines is essential if we are to consider the possibility of interplanetary missions. At least if we want to avoid expensive trips that take more than a year. In this endeavor, NASA is immersed in developing an engine that combines nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that can greatly shorten the travel time to Mars.

nuclear impulse.
intelligence has been suggested Created by engineer Ryan Gosse of the University of Florida, it attempts to combine two technologies to address the specific shortcomings of each, thus creating an engine capable of driving oversized payloads, such as those that will be required for manned trips to Mars, at high speeds.

NTP systems They operate from a nuclear reactor It transmits heat From interaction with hydrogen gas propellant. This hydrogen, at high temperatures, expands in the engine nozzle to drive the car. This technology allows for high pulses but can also double the time the engine is active in relation to the chemical actuators in use today.

the nep drive For their part, they use the nuclear reactor to generate electrical energy which is then used to ionize an inert gas propellant. Electromagnetic or electrostatic forces accelerate these gases which are ejected from the nozzle, propelling the vehicle.

hybrid drive.
NTP engines deliver a significant amount of power for a longer period than chemical engines, but this period can be limited to about 900 seconds (15 minutes). In contrast, NEP drives deliver pulses that are less powerful but can last more than 2 hours.

common engine Proposed by Gosse on the basis of “wave rotor”, it can generate NTP drive power for a longer time, between 1400 and 2000 seconds. It would also have an additional NEP cycle that would allow the burst to continue (between 1800 and 4000 seconds). This engine could shorten the trip to the Red Planet by up to 45 days, according to some estimates.

nyak.
The idea is still in the initial stage of development in context NIAC program (Advanced and innovative concepts) from NASA. The NIAC program is a mechanism of the US Space Agency Promote the latest science possible. It is not uncommon for that such projects Apply to calls to this program.

The design still has two rounds to go before it is ready to move forward. The engine participates in this round of the call with 13 other projects. between them One Which seeks to use nuclear energy to penetrate the inner layers of the oceanic worlds of our solar system or else Which seeks to establish a channel to transport oxygen on the moon between the poles and future lunar stations.

Nuclear ban.
Nuclear power has been used in space exploration for decades, ever since Early sixties The United States will send its first nuclear-powered satellite, TRANSIT-4A, which has been operating for 15 years and is still in our orbit. Even today.

Since then, both the Soviet Union and China have recently been able to send probes and rovers charged with mechanisms of this type. Among the most popular in recent years rovers Curiosity and perseverancewhich has been touring Mars since 2012 and 2021, respectively.

Missiles are driven by various mechanisms based on nuclear reactors It may become the new frontier in space exploration. We’ll have to wait anyway before we find out in any of its variants, thermal, electric or hybrid. Or who knows, we might still have new mechanisms pending

Image | Container