Advanced Space Nuclear Reactors
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B4: Nuclear Energy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 936
Special Issue Editor
Interests: reactor phycics; fuel cycles; reactor engineering; multiphysics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
During the last few years, we have seen a strong push towards developing base power sources for nuclear applications in space as well as nuclear engines to support space transits. For example, fission surface power is robust and reliable regardless of the deployed environment, such as the Moon or Mars. An additional example is nuclear propulsion technology, which has the potential for future crewed missions to Mars. This technology is expected to enable reduced interplanetary travel times, which could increase the crew's safety by reducing exposure to cosmic radiation and other hazards of deep space travel. There are ongoing activities by NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), who are assisted by multiple industry partners and national labs, to demonstrate this technology in the next decade.
This Special Issue of Energies on “Advanced Space Nuclear Reactors” is focused on existing and novel designs related to the advancement of nuclear reactor applications in space. The focus is on the designs, applications, and methodologies to support the deployment of these advanced systems.
Topics include, but are not limited to, the following research topics:
- Fission surface power;
- Nuclear thermal propulsion;
- Nuclear electric propulsion;
- Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations;
- Advancements in radioisotope thermoelectric generator;
- Computational tools to support the development and licensing of nuclear space systems.
Manuscripts addressing combinations of computational tools with design challenges are also welcome.
Dr. Dan Kotlyar
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- space nuclear
- nuclear propulsion (NTP and NEP)
- radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)
- fission surface power.
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