DAILY STAR
US space agency NASA is set to test nuclear-powered rockets to whisk astronauts to Mars at incredible speed.
Boffins say using nukes will slash the journey time from the current seven months – speeding up the on-the-ground search for alien life and boosting mission safety.
NASA has partnered with the US Government’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency – aka DARPA – to put a nuclear thermal rocket engine in space as soon as 2027.
Scientists plan to develop a pioneering new rocket propulsion system that’s far superior to the chemical-driven ones that have been used in almost a century of space travel.
