The agency says the spacecraft could launch by 2028 to carry Skyfall, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and AeroVironment project deploying three remotely operated helicopters on Mars.
SR-1 Freedom would be the first deep-space mission to use nuclear electric propulsion, pairing a Department of Energy reactor with repurposed Gateway station power systems.
NASA says the mission supports US space leadership and could inform a nuclear-powered lunar base, but experts question the compressed timeline, safety and value of using nuclear propulsion for Mars.
With its science budget slashed by 47%, can NASA's high-risk nuclear mission succeed on its accelerated 2028 timeline?
Is assembling a nuclear spacecraft from recycled parts an innovative shortcut or a recipe for a high-stakes disaster in deep space?
By canceling the Lunar Gateway, is NASA sacrificing long-term space sustainability for a short-term race back to the moon's surface?