Download or read book Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.) and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2020, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened the ad hoc Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for maturing space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to a future human Mars exploration mission. Through interactions with experts from across the space propulsion community, the committee assessed the present state of the art, potential development path, and key risks for (1) a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system designed to produce a specific impulse1 of at least 900 s and (2) a nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) system with at least 1 megawatt of electric (MWe) power and a mass-to-power ratio that is substantially lower than the current state of the art. As requested by NASA, each system was assessed with regard to its ability to support a particular baseline mission—an opposition-class human exploration mission to Mars with a 2039 launch date.2,3 For both NEP and NTP systems, efforts to mature the requisite technology and mitigate key technical risks were integrated into a top-level development and demonstration roadmap. Infusion of technology results, expertise, and synergy with other government programs and missions was also examined.