| Description |
1 online resource (xii, 92 pages) : color illustrations, color photographs. |
|
text file |
|
PDF |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Series |
Consensus study reports
|
|
Consensus study reports.
|
| Note |
"Prepublication copy - subject to further editorial correction"--Cover |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Contents |
Executive summary. -- 1. Introduction and baseline mission requirements. -- Introduction. -- Baseline mission to Mars: crewed opposition class missions. -- Propulsion system requirements. -- Cargo missions. -- Summary. -- 2. Nuclear thermal propulsion. -- System concept. -- Historical overview. -- State of the art. -- Technology requirements, risks, and options. -- Testing, editing, and simulation. -- Development and demonstration roadmap. -- Summary. -- 3. Nuclear electric propulsion. -- System concept. -- Historical overview. -- State of the art. -- Technology requirements, risks, and options. -- Testing, modeling, and simulation. -- Development and demonstration roadmap. -- Summary. -- 4. System and programmatic issues. -- NTP and NEP are different technologies. -- Developments common to both NTP and NEP systems. -- HEU versus HALEU. -- Industrial base. -- Lessons learned from the history of developing space nuclear systems. -- Key technical risks. -- Programmatics. -- 5. Mission applications. -- Science missions. -- Potential for higher performance space nuclear propulsion systems. -- Surface power use of NEP reactors. -- Synergies with national security missions. -- Synergies with terrestrial nuclear systems. -- Appendices. |
| Summary |
In 2020, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened the ad hoc Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for maturing space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to a future human Mars exploration mission. Through interactions with experts from across the space propulsion community, the committee assessed the present state of the art, potential development path, and key risks for (1) a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system designed to produce a specific impulse1 of at least 900 s and (2) a nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) system with at least 1 megawatt of electric (MWe) power and a mass-to-power ratio that is substantially lower than the current state of the art. As requested by NASA, each system was assessed with regard to its ability to support a particular baseline mission--an opposition-class human exploration mission to Mars with a 2039 launch date. 2,3 For both NEP and NTP systems, efforts to mature the requisite technology and mitigate key technical risks were integrated into a top-level development and demonstration roadmap. Infusion of technology results, expertise, and synergy with other government programs and missions was also examined. |
| Funding |
"This activity was supported by Contract No. NNH16CD01B/80HQTR20F0059 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration." |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Space vehicles -- Propulsion systems -- Technological innovations.
|
|
Space vehicles -- Propulsion systems. |
|
Technological innovations. |
|
Nuclear propulsion.
|
|
Nuclear propulsion. |
|
Outer space -- Exploration.
|
|
Outer space. |
|
Mars (Planet)
|
|
Mars (Planet) |
|
Exploration of outer space. |
| Genre/Form |
Technical reports.
|
|
Technical reports.
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: 0309684803 9780309684804 (OCoLC)1240414044 |
| ISBN |
9780309684804 |
|
0309684803 |
|
9780309684811 (electronic book) |
|
0309684811 (electronic book) |
|
9780309684835 (electronic book) |
|
0309684838 (electronic book) |
| Standard No. |
DOI 10.17226/25977 |
|
