NASA taps DoE to help it build nuclear space reactors

NASA and the Department of Energy have agreed to expand their collaboration on the space agency's nuclear ambitions, as administrator Jared Isaacman pushes ahead with a tight deadline to launch a fission-powered spacecraft to Mars. “We are entering the ‘Nuclear NASA-era,’” Isaacman said at a signing ceremony where he and Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed a joint memorandum of understanding. The MOU, the full text of which doesn’t appear to have been published, establishes a framework for collaboration on space nuclear technology. Per NASA, the agreement “unites both agencies” in pursuing its objectives, with work to include research and fuel production, testing, launch integration, and operations. “Nuclear power will allow us to go farther, operate longer, and field more capable spacecraft and instruments than ever before,” Isaacman added. “The work we’re doing today is laying the foundation for the fission-poweuing NASA’s objred spacecraft of tomorrow and opening an entirely new frontier for exploration and discovery.” …