NASA's Space Reactor-1 Freedom will be the first fission-powered spacecraft to travel beyond Earth's orbit. Its nuclear power module is moving forward: Sierra Lobo is building the system that turns reactor heat into electricity, while Idaho National Laboratory designs the reactor itself.
Nuclear fission makes steady electricity where sunlight is weak or absent. SR-1 Freedom will test that power in deep space, carrying three Ingenuity-style helicopters to Mars to find potential water sources. The same technology could one day keep a Moon base running through periods of darkness, when solar panels alone are not enough.
✦ A small reactor could power helicopters on Mars and keep Moon bases running through the dark.