Nuclear-powered rocket could get astronauts to Mars faster

Updated 1226 GMT (2026 HKT) February 10, 2021

<strong>2020: </strong>Rocket technology has come a long way since the start of the space age. Humanity's next giant leap is sending astronauts to Mars, with NASA hoping to do this by the mid 2030s. But to reach the red planet, explore the surface, and safely return home, new technologies must be deployed.<strong> </strong>One option being considered is<strong> </strong>nuclear-powered rockets. This<strong> </strong>design, by USNC-Tech, could travel from Earth to Mars in just three months, says the company. <strong>Click through to see the evolution of spacecraft, and how far we've come. </strong><br />

Photos: The rockets that defined space travel

2020: Rocket technology has come a long way since the start of the space age. Humanity's next giant leap is sending astronauts to Mars, with NASA hoping to do this by the mid 2030s. But to reach the red planet, explore the surface, and safely return home, new technologies must be deployed. One option being considered is nuclear-powered rockets. This design, by USNC-Tech, could travel from Earth to Mars in just three months, says the company. Click through to see the evolution of spacecraft, and how far we've come.

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<strong>1944: </strong>The first rocket capable of reaching the edge of space was the V-2, a long-range ballistic missile. Developed by German engineers during World War II, its full name -- "<a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/v-2-missile/nasm_A19600342000#:~:text=The%20V%2D2%20missile%20was,underground%20by%20concentration%20camp%20prisoners." target="_blank">Vergeltungswaffe Zwei</a>" (Vengeance Weapon Two) -- was given to it by <a href="https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/v-2-the-rocket-that-launched-the-space-age/" target="_blank">Joseph Goebbels</a>, the Nazi minister of propaganda. Despite being used as a lethal weapon the V-2, which was powered by a liquid ethanol fuel, signaled the dawn of the space age, with the Allies scrambling to acquire the technology once the war had ended.

Photos: The rockets that defined space travel

1944: The first rocket capable of reaching the edge of space was the V-2, a long-range ballistic missile. Developed by German engineers during World War II, its full name -- "Vergeltungswaffe Zwei" (Vengeance Weapon Two) -- was given to it by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister of propaganda. Despite being used as a lethal weapon the V-2, which was powered by a liquid ethanol fuel, signaled the dawn of the space age, with the Allies scrambling to acquire the technology once the war had ended.

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<strong>1957: </strong>The Soviet Union won the first leg of the space race, launching its intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7, on October 4. This put <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/From-Sputnik-to-Apollo" target="_blank">Sputnik</a> -- the world's first artificial satellite -- into orbit. The following month, a second satellite, Sputnik 2, was sent into space carrying a small dog called <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Laika" target="_blank">Laika</a>, the first living creature in orbit. While she did not survive the mission, she blazed the way for all humans that followed.<br />

Photos: The rockets that defined space travel

1957: The Soviet Union won the first leg of the space race, launching its intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7, on October 4. This put Sputnik -- the world's first artificial satellite -- into orbit. The following month, a second satellite, Sputnik 2, was sent into space carrying a small dog called Laika, the first living creature in orbit. While she did not survive the mission, she blazed the way for all humans that followed.

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