NASA's Nuclear Ship Will Deploy a Squadron of Helicopters on Mars 0 12

NASA has begun construction of a lunar base, reports the New York Times. According to the agency's head, among its goals is also the launch of a spacecraft with a nuclear engine to Mars.

The Space Reactor-1 Freedom spacecraft, equipped with a nuclear reactor, is intended to help reach Mars faster and deliver a cargo of unmanned helicopters similar to the Ingenuity helicopter that accompanied the Perseverance rover in 2021.

The launch of SR-1 is scheduled for December 2028 on a trajectory to Mars. It will demonstrate technology that could potentially reduce travel time, but at this size, it will not be significantly faster than previous probes. On Mars, it will deploy the Skyfall payload — a descent capsule with three Ingenuity-class helicopters to scout potential landing sites for future crewed missions and investigate subsurface water ice.

The mission, jointly sponsored by NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy, aims to demonstrate nuclear propulsion and energy technologies for long-duration exploration beyond the Moon, including future missions to Mars and the outer Solar System.

Data obtained from SR-1 is also expected to be used for the development of the Lunar Reactor-1 (LR-1), a fission-based surface power system designed to provide continuous power to the lunar base during periods of darkness.