U.S. tests nuclear power system to sustain astronauts on Mars

As far as I understand it they are pumping the equivalent thermal energy as an actual operating core would produce into the reactor casing and assembly using a specially designed electrical insert that uses external power.<p>This isn&#x27;t a fission test. It&#x27;s a mechanical engineering test. Still cool.

I would love to have more details about this reactor. How much is the total mass? What is the expected power output over time? What kind of heat sink is necessary? But in any case this is really cool development.

What happens if the launch rocket fails? That’s been the main concern of sending nuclear reactors into space thus far, right? Has this been addressed here?

If each core really is the size of a paper towel roll, then this seems like a solid step toward me eventually owning a nuclear-powered car.

I find it frustrating NASA talking about putting people on Mars but if you look at reality, it can&#x27;t even put astronauts in the orbit anymore. What about solving that problem first, and when it&#x27;s done, then we can dream about Mars...<p>Or are we going to outsource such mundane tasks like manned orbital space flight to the Russians and Chinese forever, while we are proudly preparing the colonization of Mars? &#x2F;s

Unanswered in article:<p>How long does the power unit lasts until you have to replace the paper-towel-roll-sized U-235 core? Where are they going to put the old ones?<p>What&#x27;s the plug interface? Can I charge my iPhone? What about my electric razor?<p>Are they going to test burying one in red sand for 15+ years and see if it can be dug up to phone home in an emergency?

Part of Nasa&#x27;s Game Changing Development program:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nasa.gov&#x2F;directorates&#x2F;spacetech&#x2F;game_changing_development&#x2F;index.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nasa.gov&#x2F;directorates&#x2F;spacetech&#x2F;game_changing_de...</a>

<i>&quot;Testing on components of the system, dubbed KRUSTY...</i>&quot;<p>Named after Krusty the Clown?

I&#x27;m curious, where does one get the nuclear fuel on Mars? Does it have to be flown all the way from the Earth?

How will they cool it?

I want one!

This thread is a great example of why I love HN. I clicked on Comments expecting to see a bunch of &quot;nuclear = devils energy&quot; posts, but what I found was reasoned discussion weighing the real pros and cons of this particular use case.

Q

I am not sure this is a good idea.<p>Nuclear reactor is an easy way out of a problem that has alternative solutions. Restriction on using nuclear power for previous missions did a lot of good in terms of researching and perfecting the alternatives (solar arrays).<p>Restricting the use of nuclear power does not prevent missions, it only adds to the cost of the mission, which is not really a technical problem.<p>Maybe launching one, fresh, yet inert reactor, is not a big issue. The issue starts when we fly a lot of them and they start falling back to Earth after some service time.<p>It is relatively easy to build safe reactors on Earth (if only everybody was interested in safety and not their own agenda). It is much more difficult when you are going to shoot the entire device into space and you can&#x27;t have 1000:1 of shields and casings.