Nuclear-powered rocket could get astronauts to Mars faster

By Nell Lewis, CNN

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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<strong>1958: </strong>Explorer 1 was the first US satellite to enter space, on January 31 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was launched on top of Jupiter C, a ballistic missile, and carried scientific instruments, such as a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/explorer/explorer-overview.html" target="_blank">cosmic ray detector</a> designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth's orbit. The satellite made a total of 58,000 orbits then burnt up after entering the planet's atmosphere in 1970.
Photos: The rockets that defined space travel
1958: Explorer 1 was the first US satellite to enter space, on January 31 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was launched on top of Jupiter C, a ballistic missile, and carried scientific instruments, such as a cosmic ray detector designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth's orbit. The satellite made a total of 58,000 orbits then burnt up after entering the planet's atmosphere in 1970.
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<strong>1959:</strong> Despite only reaching the edge of space, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/x-15-rocket-aircraft/index.html" target="_blank">the X-15</a>, a rocket-powered plane, was crucial in informing the design and engineering of later American spacecraft, such as NASA's space shuttles. The bullet-shaped plane completed 199 test flights over nine years, and was flown by just 12 pilots, including Neil Armstrong, who would go on to lead the first moon landing in 1969. It was the quickest manned aircraft ever to fly, reaching speeds of 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 kilometers per hour) in 1967.
Photos: The rockets that defined space travel
1959: Despite only reaching the edge of space, the X-15, a rocket-powered plane, was crucial in informing the design and engineering of later American spacecraft, such as NASA's space shuttles. The bullet-shaped plane completed 199 test flights over nine years, and was flown by just 12 pilots, including Neil Armstrong, who would go on to lead the first moon landing in 1969. It was the quickest manned aircraft ever to fly, reaching speeds of 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 kilometers per hour) in 1967.
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<strong>1961: </strong>Pipping the US to the post, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, leaving Earth on April 12, aboard the <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1961-012A" target="_blank">Vostok 1 rocket</a> -- just 25 days ahead of the <a href="https://www.space.com/17385-alan-shepard-first-american-in-space.html" target="_blank">first manned American suborbital flight</a>. His space flight, which lasted 1 hour 48 minutes, orbited Earth once before reentering the atmosphere. At 20,000 feet, Gagarin ejected himself and parachuted to ground, landing in Kazakhstan.
Photos: The rockets that defined space travel
1961: Pipping the US to the post, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, leaving Earth on April 12, aboard the Vostok 1 rocket -- just 25 days ahead of the first manned American suborbital flight. His space flight, which lasted 1 hour 48 minutes, orbited Earth once before reentering the atmosphere. At 20,000 feet, Gagarin ejected himself and parachuted to ground, landing in Kazakhstan.
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<strong>1962:</strong> In the fine art of one-upmanship, on February 20, the US sent John Glenn into orbit in the Mercury Atlas 6 rocket named Friendship 7. The spacecraft orbited Earth three times, reaching speeds of <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1962-003A" target="_blank">28,000 kilometers</a> per hour (17,000 miles per hour) and an altitude of 260 kilometers (161 miles). Four hours and 55 minutes later, it landed with a splash in the Atlantic Ocean. Glenn and his capsule were recovered by a US Navy ship 21 minutes later.<br />
Photos: The rockets that defined space travel
1962: In the fine art of one-upmanship, on February 20, the US sent John Glenn into orbit in the Mercury Atlas 6 rocket named Friendship 7. The spacecraft orbited Earth three times, reaching speeds of 28,000 kilometers per hour (17,000 miles per hour) and an altitude of 260 kilometers (161 miles). Four hours and 55 minutes later, it landed with a splash in the Atlantic Ocean. Glenn and his capsule were recovered by a US Navy ship 21 minutes later.
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