![]() “I applaud the effort and hope it’s successful. Meyers is a consultant to NASA who co-chaired the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s committee that wrote the report, Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration, released earlier this year. “I’d caution to think about the amount of infrastructure in space and infrastructure on the surface of Mars that’s necessary to be successful,” Roger Meyers said. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. Also, the company will need a power source on Mars to manufacture propellant. Transferring cryogenic propellants-”gases chilled to subfreezing temperatures and condensed to form highly combustible liquids”-in zero gravity represents a nontrivial challenge. Nonetheless, SpaceX, the American aerospace manufacturer founded by Elon Musk, seeks to overcome the challenge of sending a chemically propelled rocket to Mars by building infrastructure to refuel in space and manufacture propellant on the surface of Mars. You have to select the appropriate propulsion system for the mission that you’re trying to achieve,” Kareem Ahmed, a mechanical engineer at the Propulsion and Energy Research Lab at the University of Central Florida, said. “There is no perfect propulsion system for all missions out there. But a human-crewed trip from Earth to the Red Planet on a chemically fueled spaceship would require 1,000-4,000 tons of fuel-an impractical amount. It has also flown rovers to Mars, which averages 225,000,000 miles away from Earth, by way of chemical propulsion. For example, NASA succeeded in traversing the approximately 240,000 miles from Earth to the moon on chemically propelled spacecrafts. However, they also need to carry fuel and oxidizer to power that incredible upward or forward movement. Why not travel to Mars on a chemically propelled spacecraft? Spaceships that use chemical propellants benefit from tremendous thrust to get the job done. That is, any discussion about such an uncommon journey must also consider relevant medical, environmental, economic, political, and ethical questions. To realize the goal of a nuclear-propelled, human mission to Mars, scientists must overcome significant challenges that include-but go beyond-the technical. But extreme physical conditions on the launchpad, in space, and during reentry raise questions about risk-mitigation measures, especially when nuclear materials are present. Nuclear propulsion systems for space exploration-should they materialize-are expected to offer significant advantages, including the possibility of sending spacecraft farther, in less time, and more efficiently than traditional chemical propulsion systems. Now that the United States has set a goal of a human mission to Mars by 2039, the words “nuclear” and “space” are again popping up together in newspaper headlines. The cleanup and recovery process, which took nearly eight months and started in the subarctic winter, found that virtually all of the satellite fragments were radioactive, including one that was “ sufficient to kill a person or number of persons remaining in contact with that part for a few hours.” In January 1978, Kosmos 954 burst into the Western Canada skyline, scattering radioactive dust and debris over a nearly 400-mile path. The Soviets tried to eject its radioactive core into a higher orbit by way of a safety system designed for that purpose. Within weeks of its launch, Kosmos 954 veered from its path like a drunkard on a walk. And so, the satellite was equipped with a small, efficient, yet powerful nuclear reactor fueled by approximately 50 kg of weapons-grade uranium 235. For this reason, the craft traveled in Earth’s low orbit, where solar panels alone could not provide consistent power. The 1977 Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 was supposed to monitor ocean traffic using radar-a technology that works best at short distances. ![]()
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