Nuclear Powered Spacecraft on the Way

Image: NASA Project Prometheus (cgi),
Info: NuclearSpace.com, NASA Project Prometheus site,
The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight

So NASA wants to triple our current maximum Spaceship speed by using a nuclear powered craft. Way to go NASA! Instead of six months to Mars, it would be about two. And the excess energy created by the fission reaction could be used to power multiple systems onboard the craft. There would be no shortage of power for scientific experiments of all sorts.
The propulsion system looks promising. All that's left is to build the thing.

First up will be Project Prometheus. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) has been postponed, so a less complicated craft and mission can be designed to test the propulsion system.
It is hoped the new system will allow faster exploration of the Solar System and possibly even supply a craft capable of Extra-Solar exploration.

The idea is nothing new. In fact, in the early 1970s, when NASA was still lobbing small capsules to the Moon with chemical rockets, scientists and engineers were designing an atomic powered Spacecraft the size of a small city. It was believed the new ship, dubbed Project Orion, would casually explore the entire Solar System; creating enough power to supply life support, science experiments and propulsion, it was hoped the craft would lead to bigger, faster and more capable Spacecraft in just a few decades.

Well, here we are a few decades out from the research that went into Project Orion and still no nuclear powered Spacecraft. Hopefully this new initiative will allow engineers to advance the work done in the 70s and create a Spaceship that give us more command over Space travel.

The change will be dramatic: like going from sailing ships to the age of steam. Just wait and see.