Nature:
Small fission reactors may be used to power future NASA manned
space missions. With twice the efficiency of chemical rockets,
the reactors could send astronauts farther into space and at a
much higher rate of speed, writes Eric Hand for
Nature. Although researchers have been exploring the
technology for years, funding has been problematic—until
now. In a National Research Council report released 1 February,
nuclear power and propulsion were ranked high on a list of the
most important areas of technology development. And public
opinion regarding nuclear power may be changing. Whereas the
1997 launch of
Cassini–Huygens, with a radioisotope generator,
was protested by antinuclear activists, the November 2011
launch of the Mars Science Laboratory, which also has a
radioisotope generator, did not generate the same level of
public concern.
