NASA has some funding for Nuclear power and propulsion for space and will likely increase it

NASA has some funding for Nuclear power and propulsion for space and will likely increase it

Nature - Fission power back on NASA’s agenda Michael Houts, nuclear-research manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, wants astronauts to ride a nuclear reactor to Mars. He is convinced that small amounts of uranium-235 — which has an energy density one million times greater than that of liquid fuels — could power rockets efficiently, using the heat of fission to accelerate small stores of lightweight hydrogen propellant. This year, he is leading a nuclear-propulsion project with a budget of US$3 million — minuscule in comparison with the $1.3 billion that NASA will spend on space-technology research and development in the 2012 fiscal year. (H/T Hobby Space)

The US National Research Council report (Feb 1, 2012) Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities is the first ever community-based document to set priorities for NASA’s space-technology division. Nuclear power and propulsion came high on the list.