Demo
    Mars rover on a rocky Martian surface under a reddish, hazy sky, with hills in the background.
    NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, in a self-portrait on Mars, collected data on radiation exposure on its way to the red planet. For the self-portrait, NASA stitched together a series of images and edited out photos of the camera and the rover's robotic arm on which it sits.
    A satellite in space above earth.
    NASA is interested in interplanetary missions propelled by nuclear thermal rockets. In the concept above, a nuclear fission reactor (the left side of the spacecraft) heats liquid hydrogen, accelerating it out of a set of nozzles. The crew would reside in a habitat module at the other end of the spacecraft.
    Diagram of a plasma propulsion system with labeled components, including the propellant tank (1), cathode (2), magnetic coil (3), anode (4), plasma (5), magnetic nozzle (6), exhaust (7), and power source (9).
    One type of thruster under development for missions to Mars is the VASIMR, short for Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, in which a gas is ionized by radio waves. The resulting plasma, which is hotter than the surface of the sun, is contained by magnetic fields. This plasma then passes through a second section of VASIMR where radio waves further energize the plasma. The heated and accelerated plasma is drawn by a magnetic nozzle out of the back of the rocket, generating thrust. 1. Propellant; 2. Helicon RF generator; 3. Helicon coupler; 4. ICH coupler; 5. Gas; 6. Cold plasma; 7. Energized plasma; 8. Accelerated plasma; 9. ICH RF generator. 10. Superconducting magnets