ISRO working on developing nuclear engines for spacecrafts

Bengaluru / Washington – After the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now heavily involved in developing a nuclear-powered spacecraft. To achieve this, ISRO has entered into an agreement with India’s leading nuclear institute the – ‘Bhabha Atomic Research Centre’ i.e. ‘BARC’. According to experts, chemically powered spacecraft have limitations and hence nuclear energy could be a possibility to send spacecraft from one planet to another in space. On the other hand, if one has to make use of solar energy, it cannot be used in places where there is no sunlight. This is why ISRO started working on nuclear energy. To achieve this, ‘ISRO’ and ‘BARC’ are trying to develop a ‘Radio Thermoelectric Generator’.

What is a ‘Radio Thermoelectric Generator’ ?

A radio thermoelectric generator uses radioactive materials. The heat generated by destroying this material generates electricity. This in turn charges the battery. Now this battery provides the necessary energy and power to the craft. This technology is not new, but this kind of technology was used in the American spacecraft ‘Cassini’ (year 2004), ‘Curiosity’ (year 2011) and ‘Voyager’ (year 2018).

NASA has started working on a technology that can carry a spacecraft from one planet to another at very high speed

Nuclear Thermal Rocket by NASA

NASA is now working on a new technology called ‘Nuclear Thermal Propulsion’. NASA plans to have this technology ready by 2027. Thanks to this technology, astronauts will be able to travel from one planet to another distant planet (e.g. Moon, Mars etc.) at very high speed. This benefits not just by the reduction in duration but also reduces the risk to comfortable levels. China is also working on a similar technology.