Space & Astronomy

NASA plans to launch nuclear-powered Mars mission by end of 2028

By T.K. Randall
May 14, 2026 ·  2 comments

Image Credit: (PD) NASA via Wikimedia Commons The idea of nuclear-powered space flight has been around for decades - even in the earliest days of the space program, concepts of nuclear rockets and spacecraft were being considered.

Nuclear propulsion typically comes in two forms - nuclear thermal propulsion, which heats propellant to very high temperatures and can heavily reduce travel time - and nuclear electric propulsion, which uses nuclear energy to generate electricity which in turn powers the propulsion system.

The latter is slower, but more efficient - ideal for long-haul cargo missions.

It is also what NASA is hoping to use in SR-1 Freedom - an ambitious upcoming endeavour described as the world's first ever nuclear-powered interplanetary mission.Even the timetable is ambitious - with NASA aiming to launch it to Mars by the end of 2028.

The spacecraft would be carrying a payload of experimental helicopter drones that would go on to explore the surface of the Red Planet without the limitations of ground-based rovers.

Actually making this happen, however, will be quite a challenge - more so than most missions - as overcoming the technical and logistical hurdles of nuclear propulsion won't be easy.

Whether it will genuinely happen as soon as 2028 remains, for the moment at least, unclear.

Source: Space Daily | Comments (2)

Tags: Nuclear, Mars