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Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration (2021) / Chapter Skim
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5 Mission Applications
Pages 62-66

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From page 62...
... Power levels considered have generally been 100 kWe or less.1 The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter mission would have visited three Jovian moons with an NEP system designed to produce 200 kWe. Most recently, an NEP system at power levels of 1 to 8 kWe has been examined for outer planet missions.2 NTP systems and megawatt electric-class NEP systems have seldom been considered for these science missions, primarily due to the large total cost and mass of the system, the inability to launch these systems on a single launch vehicle, the lack of significant transfer time constraints, and the desire to avoid in-space assembly of science missions.
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From page 63...
... Ongoing research and technology development for both NTP and NEP is necessary to allow them to achieve their potential, even if they are not selected as the propulsion systems for the first human Mars exploration mission. SURFACE POWER USE OF NEP REACTORS Nuclear fission power has been identified as a technology priority for sustained human presence on both the Moon and Mars.5 The development of the reactor and power conversion subsystems of an NEP system may contribute to the development of surface power systems and vice versa, especially if the megawatt electric capacity of the NEP system greatly exceeds the power requirements for the surface power system.
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From page 64...
... The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) presently has an NTP program named Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO)
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From page 65...
... NASA should seek opportunities for collaboration with the Department of Energy and Department of Defense terrestrial microreactor programs and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DRACO (Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations) program to identify synergies with NASA space nuclear propulsion programs.
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Key Terms

  • surface power
  • science missions
  • agile cislunar
  • nuclear propulsion
  • power conversion

  • advanced reactor
  • mars mission
  • specific mass
  • power requirements
  • terrestrial microreactors

  • cislunar operations
  • power levels
  • security review
  • nuclear thermal
  • nep reactors

  • mars exploration
  • power level
  • nep designs
  • baseline mars
  • baseline mission

  • space missions
  • reactor designs
  • thermal propulsion
  • human mars
  • lower specific

  • ntp designs
  • review commission
  • component fabrication
  • electric propulsion
  • thermal management


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