Abstract
NASA is collaborating with industry and national laboratory partners on nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) and nuclear electric propulsion for enabling crewed missions to Mars in the 2030s.1 Within the Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0, NASA has identified NTP as the preferred propulsion option.2 Certifying a NTP rocket for a Mars mission will require extensive irradiation studies to understand the impact of neutron and gamma radiation on typical rocket components. Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Nuclear Engineering Department developed a nuclear test bed enabling materials, sensors, and fuel to be studied and certified in prototypic NTP environments.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2022 |
Publisher | American Nuclear Society |
Pages | 482-486 |
Number of pages | 5 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780894487828 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2022 |
Event | 2022 Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2022 - Cleveland, United States Duration: May 8 2022 → May 12 2022 |
Publication series
Name | Proceedings of Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2022 |
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Conference
Conference | 2022 Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, NETS 2022 |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Cleveland |
Period | 05/8/22 → 05/12/22 |
Funding
This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for