What do You Think about the Power of Nuclear Rockets.

By Amila Sandun Basnayaka.

Do you believe that we may set up a journey to Mars in 100 days using a nuclear rocket. 

Our solar system consists of an average star called the Sun and eight planets without Pluto. This is a really big place not to be travelled by a person. It takes you forever to travel. 

But there was one technique back in 1960s developed by a nuclear rocket propulsion. When we were supposed to go for deep space missions, it is mandatory to power a nuclear thermal propulsion. This technology is making progress for potential use on future deep space missions such as Mars mission by 2033. The funding including the mission is $125 million to erect this technology within the agency's space technology programme, compared to an administration request for no funding.

If you want to visit Mars using a chemical rocket, you will blast off from Earth and go into low Earth orbit. Then at the right moment, you'd fire your rocket, raising your orbit from the Sun. The new elliptical trajectory you're following' intersects with Mars after eight months of flight. This transfer is cited Hohman Transfer and 'tis the most efficient way we know how to travel in space. The problem is time and throughout the journey, the person who travels will be consuming food, water, air and so on. 

In 1960, NASA and the AEC worked together on this gist or NPT. They did perform fewer successful tests of nuclear thermal propulsion. Thanks to good old Newton's third law that A/L students hate mostly, the rocket receives a thrust in the opposite direction from the expelled gases. A nuclear rocket works in the same way. A marble-sized ball of Uranium fuel undergoes the process of fission releasing a tremendous amount of heat. This heats up a hydrogen to almost 2,500C which is then expelled out the back of the rocket at very high velocity maybe even 100 day trip to Mars with a lower radiation load.

Second part will be soon.