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NASA plans a $2.1B nuclear Mars spacecraft for 2028
NASA says its SR-1 Freedom spacecraft could launch to Mars in late 2028, with about $2.1 billion budgeted for the vehicle alone.
Image: iXBT
NASA is preparing a Mars mission built around a nuclear-powered spacecraft — and the price tag for the vehicle alone is currently about $2.1 billion.
According to Politico, citing NASA, the agency plans to send Space Reactor-1 Freedom (SR-1) to Mars in late 2028. NASA says the total is not final and will be refined during the procurement process.
NASA describes SR-1 as the first interplanetary spacecraft to use nuclear fission for power. As part of the SkyFall mission, it is expected to deliver three robotic helicopters to Mars for planetary exploration.
Those aircraft will be based on Ingenuity, the helicopter NASA previously used on Mars. Ingenuity operated from 2021 to 2024 after arriving with the Perseverance rover. It completed 72 flights, surveying areas the rover could not reach. NASA stopped using it in January 2024 after it was damaged.
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A NASA document breaks out planned spending for the SR-1 program by fiscal year:
- 2026: $640 million
- 2027: $890 million
- 2028: $415 million
- 2029: $180 million
NASA notes that these figures cover only the spacecraft itself, including its nuclear power system. The broader SkyFall mission costs are not included in that total.
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via iXBT
