24 March 2026 2018, during the strategic event "Ignition", NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman officially announced the ambitious new Space Reactor mission 1 (SR-1) Freedom.
Here are the key details of this mission, announced at the event:
Engine type: It will be the world's first interplanetary spacecraft with a nuclear electric engine (NEP). A small power reactor will be installed on board 20 kW, which will generate electricity for ion thrusters.
Launch date: The launch is planned for December 2028 year.
Target and payload: The device will head to Mars, where it will deploy the Skyfall system — a group of three Ingenuity-type helicopters to explore the planet's surface.
Reconstruction of plans: NASA will use the power module to build the device (PPE), which was previously intended for the Gateway Lunar Station, because the agency decided to put the Gateway project on hold and shift its focus to building a permanent base on the surface of the moon.
Value: The mission is to prove the possibility of using nuclear energy for long flights into deep space, where solar panels become inefficient (example, in the orbit of Jupiter).
This announcement is part of the new US strategy "America Underway", aimed at accelerating the development of the Moon and Mars with the help of nuclear technologies.
Source: https://spacenews.com