NASA plans to send a working nuclear reactor toward Mars in late 2028. Space Reactor-1 Freedom will split uranium atoms in deep space to generate electricity for its engines — the first test of a technology NASA hopes will eventually help power human missions across the Solar System.
NASA's Space Reactor-1 Freedom cruises past Mars in this artist's concept, demonstrating nuclear electric propulsion in deep space. Source. Credit: NASA. By Lachlan Brown, Published by Space Daily, 21 August 2026 NASA has put a date on an idea that the United States has studied for more than six decades
