NASA aims to test a nuclear-powered rocket within five years, the agency said Tuesday. 

• An early concept suggests the rockets could get there within 45 days. 
• The space agency aims to put humans on Mars for the first time by the late 2030s.

Photos show how NASA built a $50 billion mega-rocket and spaceship to return astronauts to the moon.

• NASA’s Space Launch System rocket lifted off early Wednesday, launching the Orion capsule on its first moon mission.
• The SLS rocket and Orion have undergone critical tests to ensure they’re ready for flight.
• The mission, Artemis 1, is an uncrewed flight test before flying astronauts in future missions.

NASA’s first big moon rocket since the Apollo missions roared past the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, blasting off on its maiden voyage.

The mission, called Artemis I, aims to send an Orion spaceship around the moon and back. It’s the first of three flights meant to culminate in landing humans on the surface of the moon for the first time since 1972. Eventually, NASA plans to use the new rocket, called the Space Launch System (SLS), to set up a permanent base on the moon.

“This is now the Artemis generation,” Bill Nelson, NASA’s administrator, said at a press briefing on August 3. “We were in the Apollo generation, but this is a new generation, this is a new type of astronaut. And to all of us that gaze up at the moon, dreaming of the day humankind returns to the lunar surface, folks, we’re here. We are going back and that journey, our journey, begins with Artemis I.”

NASA’s ambitious 21st century lunar campaign requires powerful and advanced space hardware in the SLS mega-rocket, including its boosters and core stage, and the high-tech crew vehicle called Orion. Here’s how NASA built these powerful pieces of equipment.See More

NASA is investing in plans to test a nuclear-propelled rocket by 2027 that could reach Mars within weeks, the agency’s chief Bill Nelson said in a statement this week. 

The agency is teaming up with the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to make a rocket that could reach Mars in record time. They aim to test that rocket by 2027. 

“With the help of this new technology, astronauts could journey to and from deep space faster than ever – a major capability to prepare for crewed missions to Mars,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday. 

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NASA’s recent successful Artemis I mission to the moon was only the first step in its plans to advance human space exploration. The agency aims to put humans on Mars, for the first time, by the late 2030s or early 2040s. 

Early missions to the red planet would only last about 30 days, so making sure that travel time is minimized is crucial. 

Nuclear thermal propulsion is not a new idea for rockets — the concept was first tested in the 60s.

It relies on using a nuclear reactor to heat a liquid propellant such as hydrogen. That heat converts the liquid to gas. As it expands, the gas is funneled through a nozzle, which generates thrust, propelling the rocket forward. 

These rockets would be three or more times more efficient than traditional chemical-based rocket engines, and much faster.

Not only would they be able to carry a heavier workload, but they would also travel quicker than their chemical counterparts, per the press release.

Transit to Mars using a nuclear-powered rocket could take four months, a lot shorter than the usual nine months for older rocket models, Reuters reported. 

NASA has also funded an application to develop a concept for a new type of nuclear-thermal propulsion system. If that concept proves to work, it could reduce travel time to Mars to just 45 days, per the concept application.