A new image shows a possible version of the future space engine. Using the energy released when atoms break apart, nuclear fission systems could be used to power astronaut bases on the Moon or Mars. Or they could help shorten the travel time to the Red Planet, which takes six to nine months with current generation propulsion.

Rolls-Royce could be part of this ambitious future of space flight. On Friday, January 27, the venerable company unveiled its design for an early-stage micronuclear reactor after the 2021 deal. He is with the UK Space Agency to explore future options for nuclear power in space exploration.

“Each uranium particle is covered with several protective layers that act as a containment system and enable it to withstand extreme conditions,” Rolls-Royce said. Twitter. a brief description of the system.

Nuclear systems have long been used in robotic space missions. For example, radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) power several probes, including NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts currently exploring interstellar space. NASA’s larger rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity also use RTGs, but smaller rovers like Spirit and Opportunity are equipped with solar panels.

But RITEGs are not fission reactors. Rather, they are nuclear batteries that convert the heat released by the decay of radioactive material into electricity. Nuclear fission has yet to provide spaceships beyond Earth, but that may soon change; For example, NASA and DARPA recently announced plans to create a nuclear thermal rocket by 2027.

Nuclear fusion, the source of the energy that the Sun and other stars derive from the fusion of atoms, may one day be part of humanity’s spaceflight portfolio. But this possible future is long-term; Our species has not yet benefited from this energy source on Earth. (But American scientists recently announced a major breakthrough: a fusion experiment that produces more energy than it consumes.)

Generally speaking, some of the issues with space splitting or fusion involve the safety of astronauts; portability, because more mass means a more expensive task; and long life in harsh and demanding conditions.

But nuclear energy still forms the basis of space exploration, both in reality and in science fiction. The technology even helped fuel a joke in the 2015 movie The Martian. In the movie, astronaut Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) – collecting heat on an unheated rover and desperately digging a reactor embedded in regolith for safety – said there’s a section in the Red Planet training manual called “Don” about surface operations. Don’t dig a big plutonium box, Mark.”