US Plans $2.1 Billion Nuclear-Powered Mars Mission for 2028

WASHINGTON, July 21. /TASS/. The United States plans to spend approximately $2.1 billion to build and launch the SR-1 (Space Reactor-1) Freedom spacecraft, equipped with a nuclear fission reactor, to Mars in late 2028, NASA Spokesperson Jan Wittry told TASS.

"Space Reactor-1 Freedom is an important step toward the space nuclear capabilities America will need to operate farther, longer, and more effectively beyond low Earth orbit," she noted. "Early cost estimates are approximately $2.1 billion, and NASA will continue refining that figure through the acquisition process."

"By leveraging existing hardware, including the Power and Propulsion Element, and focusing new development on the reactor system, NASA is pursuing a practical path to deliver a flight system and prove a capability essential to sustained lunar operations, future Mars missions, and the next era of exploration," she added.

According to the plans announced by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in March, the SR-1 Freedom is set to deliver three robotic helicopters to the Red Planet. They will be made on the basis of the Ingenuity helicopters NASA previously used to explore Mars. NASA has not yet disclosed the cost of the new program, which has been named SkyFall.

The Ingenuity helicopter was used to explore Mars from 2021 to 2024. It was delivered to the planet along with the Perseverance rover in February 2021. It made 72 flights. According to the agency, the development of the aircraft, which weighed about 1.8 kilograms, cost $80 million. NASA used the Ingenuity to explore areas that could not be reached by the rover, create 3D maps of the planet’s surface, and carry out other scientific missions. Agency officials said in January 2024 that they had stopped using the helicopter because it was damaged, but emphasized that the Ingenuity had exceeded their expectations.