How Nuclear rockets will get us to Mars and beyond

They were developed more than 40 years ago and then almost forgotten but now Nuclear Rockets are set to make a comeback and possibly provide the fastest way to get around our solar system to date. Here look at their history and how they could be used in the next decade or so.
Patreon : / curiousdroid
Paypal.me : www.paypal.me/curiousdroid
Sponsors: Symon Hamer, Florian Hesse, Felix Friese, Martel DuVigneaud, Bernt-Olov Hellstram, Tayar Jundi, Johan Rombaut, Tobias Pettersson, Kevin Hinnen, Mitchel J. Mullin II, Lucius Kwok, Hunter Schwisow, Pyloric, Seb Stoodley, Peter Cote, Cody Belichesky, Mogoreanu Daniel, Douglas Gustafson, Marcus Chiado, Jorn Magnus Karlsen
This episodes shirt was the Plectrum Hawaiian Shirt
by Madcap England & available from www.atomretro.com/madcap_england
Get 10% discount with the code DROID10
Presented by Paul Shillito
Written and researched by Andy Munzer
Additional material by Paul Shillito
Footage and Images:NASA, Roscosmos, SpaceX,
Fragomatik / fragomatik , Mark Wade www.astronautix.com
Music
Mike G. Mullen, BMI - www.positrosmic.com
Featuring on Guitar
James Zota Baker - www.jameszotabaker.com
Azimuth Mix 002 with Guitar: / azimuth-mix-002-with-g...

[@ToddAMeyers]

Curious Droid is brain candy for engineers and historians. I’m “curious” what field Paul Shillito’s formal training (if any) is in. Well done documentaries Paul! These are better than many major broadcaster’s productions.

[@MarcusDBennett]

Paul used to work in technology!

[@02markcal]

If Paul Shillito's hard work, quality animation, deep research, and amazing interviews aren't enough to make you give to his patreon page....his over the top eye blasting shirt deserves the donation at least.

[@eoinoconnell185]

His is the first patreon I've ever given money too. But I want him to spend it on blackjack & hookers.

[@sidharthcs2110]

02markcal I'm broke

[@Anvilshock]

"Deep research" - Except when it comes to foreign names, apparently. -Trainwreck- Exhibit A: v=Pv7aigOzQKo, To Mars by 1982. Constantine Zillo-kofsky, Hurrmen Oweberth, Robbert Estenolt-Peltery, Corellyoff, Urnst Stollin/dzh/er

[@larryjohnny]

Cool shirt. Looks like a bunch of guitar picks.. This guy must jam!

[@AlanGrubb]

'quality animation' dont think so! he got them from a very old doc on nuclear rockets...

[@Teddy-bg3bo]

“ you can either go faster or carry more payload” Kerbal: Slower than a turtle and Medium payload, take it or leave it

[@ftswarbill]

Wall-E used a fire extinguisher to great effect. I think we should focus on fire extinguisher propulsion technology.

[@douglasrowland3722]

NO WE SHOULDN'T...It should be Electric Gavitic...General Electric would make a fortune !!!!

[@ftswarbill]

@@douglasrowland3722 Way to ruin a joke dumbass.

[@douglasrowland3722]

@@ftswarbill Well ....Double Dumb-Ass On You !!!! (William Shatner Star Trek Movie)

[@zorndy5750]

Douglas Rowland he literally made a joke, you’re the dumbass here mate

[@ffsneednamealltaken]

Sounds interesting. Being able to get to mars in 45 days would open up a whole world of possibilities

[@waynesalvin8675]

Dick

[@ffsneednamealltaken]

Wayne Salvin penis?

[@e1123581321345589144]

possibility’s what?

[@Velhotin]

ffsneednamealltaken possibilities*

[@ffsneednamealltaken]

OonVelho thx

[@TheShootist]

NERVA from 1964 is superior to anything we use today. NERVA redesigned with modern materials will be even more so.

[@unsane]

My dad was on that project (he worked for Westinghouse). It far exceeded all expectations. They ran the engine for 60min straight...until they ran out of fuel. The shuttle killed the project and we ended up in Florida because someone got a bright idea to build a nuclear reactor offshore....but that is another story.

[@jugganaut33]

Yeah. It’s a shame we never saw NERVA on a NOVA rocket.

[@subscribeorsus6862]

@@unsane well if it was so good it should kill shuttle project :)

[@xylonbeta4517]

as with everything nuclear, it's all shits and giggles until something happens and you have radioisotope contamination over a large area.

[@fergus247]

and now there are probably too many rules re: environment so it can never be worked on again?

[@roybunnell8601]

I worked on the Rover engine early in my engineering career, and was impressed by the test results being achieved at Los Alamos. This engine was not firmly linked to any certain space mission, but simply offered efficiency advantages. As such, Congress eventually lost its enthusiasm for the concept, and resulting funding cuts shelved our work in the late sixties.

[@creed4022]

My dad worked on this project, also...NERVA, testing in Jackass Flats, Nv. Based in Los Alamos when not at test grounds. I wonder if they knew each other due of compartmental groups....1963-1968. Before he died in 2015, he said it was for a mission to Mars. I never knew anything till just before he passed due to the secrecy pact they had to take. All his papers on this project were in his trunk with all his certificates and patches. One had a Kiwi and Jackass on it with the rocket in the background, and the Jackass was kicking the Kiwi up. Cool certificate for sure. He did show me that certificate the year before he died and said it was because Kiwi's are ground birds.....

[@sealpiercing8476]

An interesting concept would be to make the reactor part of the payload. It'd be awfully useful, when setting up a colony, to have a few hundred MW of energy that doesn't involve solar panels for miles. Use electrical propulsion with high Isp and eat the increased transit time for the sake of having lots of energy colony-side.

[@StanislavG.]

Not long ago I've subscribed to this channel when it had about 20,000 subs, and I can say with the utmost certainty - this channel is a case study on how to make an excellent channel with amazing content

[@desertratnt-7849]

Stas Granin well said.

[@PenisMcWhirtar]

Yep, curiousdroid restores my faith in humanity yet again with another brill vid. Love all the old footage - amazing research behind this film!

[@vasilsiakolov2880]

Ф

[@Jimmy-B-]

If only you could get shares in the channel

[@oldconspiracydude236]

the man with the shirt of a thousand guitar picks actually helped me understand specific impulse. thanks sir

[@Equoris]

It's very VERY long overdue to finally make use of nuclear power in space, beyond low power RTGs.....If we want fast, versatile interplanetary spacecraft, and have ever increasing payload capacity, so we can move beyond our current rather limited capabilities into a proper space age, we need nuclear power. Period. It saddens me to see we moved so little forward in this field in the past 60 years. At the same time I'm really glad that this technology is being picked up again!

[@cdreid99999]

we havent moved forward because physicists and biologists say its a fucking stupid idea. And oh do please tell me brilliant one how we use incredibly dangerous, corrosive nuclear power to accomplish space travel without reaction mass (look it up)

[@Jupiter__001_]

@@cdreid99999 "corrosive" isn't the term you're looking for mate. Acid is corrosive. Radiation is ionising. Look what up?

[@cdreid99999]

There is no way , per physics, to propel spacecraft without reaction mass. The original "nuclear propulsion" idea (which wasnt serious per the researchers ) was to use very small nuclear bombs expelled behind the ship which , over time.. degraded the massive reaction shield. That's what i meant by corrosive. The other way is to use molecules accelerate to hyper speeds via nuclear power... The shorter these ships are the more reaction mass they need. The longer they are the more mass they have . You're talking about linear accelerators which arent simple, easily repairable or famed for being rugged. Basically.. build one into an asteroid.. with a big finicky nuclear power plant as far away from it as you can get it.. then slowly cannibalise the asteroid for reaction mass. There are big problems with this idea. First youre running a nuclear reactor. Which arent simple build it and forget it devices. Second is fuel. Youre going to need to carry a LOT of plutonium. Next you need to be able to pretty much entirely rebuild the reactor and the accelerator. And lastly the reason we havent already gone to mars: radiation. You can shield the crew inside a big enough asteroid. But the bigger the asteroid the slower, the more fuel, the bigger the reactor. I love these guys who dream of space. But very few of them have done more than cursory research into their ideas and tend to handwave the problems off with "science will fix it"

[@sausagefinger8849]

Equine Equinus Extremely mounted liquid magazine fractal decompressors .... my shed has 4 .... my knees have grown long

[@DerBingle1]

Our government spends our money on meaningless b s. And now maybe this idiotic wall will eat up enough to really move forward on some important programs.

[@wallybrown9509]

Absolutely, nuclear power is virtually untapped. I’m all for it.

[@dustinpeloquin5678]

@Walter B maybe launch from a remote area.... Not great for transport, but the public obviously doesn't need to watch

[@UsmanSiddiq1]

@Walter B We need to built space elevator before anything else in that matter and have DRY-DOCK near moon for anything to capitalise right now.

[@donraptor6156]

Until the rocket blows up and contaminates 1000 square miles!

[@mwanikimwaniki6801]

@Anant Tiwari 😂Don't even mention the material... Think about what a failure would do. That thing would wrap around the world and destroy things in the Billions of dollars.

[@hegotdrip1319]

@@UsmanSiddiq1 I think we need to focus on getting some sort of moon dock and launch nuclear rockets from there so we dont endanger Earth.

[@onlybeckmann]

What I really like about these videos is that you can really feel that a lot of effort was put into research on the specific topics. Even if you were already into the subject before you can still learn something new...which is very often not the case with TV documentaries. Therefore: thanks! Keep up the good work!

[@2sudonim]

The fuel in a nuclear rocket is either plutonium, uranium, or thorium. The LH2 is the reaction mass. That's an important distinction.

[@durrcodurr]

To Mars in 45 days, that would be a proper commute! Although the time windows for that are probably short, it would be super handy for crew and cargo transports. Perhaps an array of space stations across the Mars / Earth orbits could be used to shorten routes when Mars/Earth aren't in ideal position to one another. For this to happen, it probably would have to be proven first that interplanetary cargo transports can yield astronomical profits. Mars' soil probably contains all kinds of materials that are rare on Earth. We probably need a functioning space industry first before we can think about lucrative space tourism and settlements. How to kickstart this is one of the greatest challenges.

[@mickeyg.c.1654]

I want to keep it short and sweet like your videos, absolutely astonishing! By that I mean how much concise clear information you convey in a short amount of time. I give your efficiency around 9 9 9, LOL keep it up as I find myself getting addicted to your videos!

[@djole94hns]

A nuclear reactor paired with a VASIMR engine would be the best combination. Xenon and argon, gases it can use for fuel, are noble gases, therefore easier to store compared to hydrogen, which requires complex systems to store for long periods of time. Also, even though the thrust is lower, it doesn't matter in space. Specific impulse is the key here, and even though the burns would be longer it would overall result in more payload capacity and faster transfers.

[@WarpedPerception]

Thanks for clarifying clarifying the current trajectory of the roadster, it seemed to me that they had missed the window for the route to intercept Mars but I haven't seen it announced anywhere.

[@FreeOfFantasy]

they stated that they didn't want to put the roadster into mars orbit because of the possibility of bacterial contamination of mars. then again they said that, is doesn't have to be true.

[@Apollorion]

The roadster was never planned to intercept Mars; SpaceX only planned to reach the orbit of Mars, not Mars itself, i.e. it's solar orbit was to be elliptical touching both the orbits of the Earth and Mars. What they achieved is now an elliptical solar orbit with its aphelion in the asteroid belt.

[@jesondag]

There weren't even specifically aiming for mars' orbit. They did a burn to depletion of the second stage. They basically fully used the capabilities of the rocket for their test, rather than target a specific orbit. They could very easily have put it into a specific orbit, but chose not to.

[@WarpedPerception]

Curious Droid funny I was just at the auto show yesterday and I was talking to a couple of execs from Toyota, I had worked with Elon Musk 16 years ago on the Moller skycar project. I was telling toyota that Tesla is first and foremost a marketing company, 2nd they're a battery company, also a lot of very talented engineers that don't get any credit from the public. But musk had that PayPal money, he wasn't the only one who wanted to make reusable Rockets. But he did get everyone's asp in gear which is what he's really good at. I learned a lot from him in the more recent years. But yeah some of those marketing ideas definitely carry over into space X.

[@12201185234]

jesondag Exactly. It turns out that the rocket was simply more efficient than they had anticipated.

[@jannsander]

Your videos are awesome!!! You have a great talent in explaining complicated or long things in an interesting way!

[@davidryder5885]

Amazing content mate, keep it going.

[@Sennmut]

Go, nuclear! Should never have stopped! We'd be across the Solar System by now.

[@cdreid99999]

you two dont realise how utterly stupid you are and sound do you. Google "reaction mass". tip. AT NO TIME has any physicist suggested using nuclear power to heat hydrogen to create a rocket was even fucking remotely efficient. It is quite simply one of the stupidest ideas ever proposed. So of course some 90 iq youtuber proposes it and a couple teabagger morons scream for it

[@cdreid99999]

GauntletofDestruction im pretty sure science and progress are ongoing. .at least when morons like you stfu, worship trump and know your place.

[@dragoscoco2173]

@cd... at no time what? Hydrogen makes a lot of sense to heat up and fire at high speed. Tip: look up specific heat of hydrogen versus anything else, also look up the weight of a kg of hydrogen versus a kg of water. These to tips will lead to great understanding as to why hydrogen can be exhausted at a very high velocity and impulse is just m*v.

[@kayzeaza]

Or dead from all that radiation

[@Destroyer4700]

@@kayzeaza Yes, because we all know space is completely free of radiation. All those supernovas, gamma-ray bursts and of course the Sun produce zero radiation right.

[@benholmes9345]

Shirts keep getting better and better

[@Saimyoshu]

This music is the music they play during reflection scenes in 80's movies. The scenes where something bad or intense just happened like someone they cared about died and the character is reflecting on it all depressed. Driving in their car to a random destination while the camera that has been pointed at their face goes outside and pans away into the distance.

[@tylerdurden7927]

lmao....I was thinking early 90's...a cheesy shower scene

[@grandparocks3824]

XLNT! Fantastic research and dedicated sharing of Knowledge ! Thank you my man from across the pond!

[@adrianevans5953]

I always enjoy watching your videos great narration very professional quality stuff you can tell you put a lot of effort into this and it shows one of my favourite channels. All the best from North Wales

[@MainForcePatrolKZ]

This channel is great, thank you for the work you do to give us these videos!

[@markdecourcyling1412]

Always impressed by the brilliant videos from this channel

[@dontsubscribeme9547]

The efforts he puts in speaking for the microphone to be able to capture the words correctly enough to be recognizable is beyond inspirational.

[@mahditr5023]

Thanks lord Varys, I always follow your channel

[@jackcarter6629]

Well done for being that "one" cock who mentions Varys in the comments on this channel. Duh! Of you go now to post a photo of your dinner on Facebook.

[@zhubajie6940]

Had a now-deceased colleague at Westinghouse who worked on NERVA as a young engineer. One problem he said was that in the event of a rocket explosion in the atmosphere, the radioactive fuel would not disperse but land in concentrated highly radioactive chunks. According to him, if it had burned up in the atmosphere, the resulting fine particles would have been at safe concentration. But because the speed of entry would create an air film layer insulating the fuel, and despite the fuel creating its own heat, the aerodynamic radioactive elements would not break apart into a fine powder they had hoped for.

[@kapa1611]

do you think that shielding the astronauts from the radiation would add a lot of weight? were those nuclear propelled rockets designed for manned or unmanned missions?

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

Ive heard the opposite - that chunks would be relatively harmless, but an aerosol or dusting would be disastrous.

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

kapa1611 Shielding does add considerable weight, but you don't have to shield the whole thing, just one slab of shield would protect everything on the other side, in a cone. But every other direction would get well roasted. No EVAs possible, unless you stayed in front of the ship. Docking is an issue too - nose to nose, or everyone dies.

[@briancam_2000]

Westinghouse = $$$ Bankrupt killed by NO NUKES--Never Happen in weak and wimpy usa nasa. STOP CASSINI: The Plutonium Probe Campaign 1990 to 2006 + successfully enlisted Senators Markey MA and Barbara Boxer CA and many other NO NUKE Anti-Science, Fearmongers POL's and delayed Cassini many YEARS with extra Studies and legal costs. NASA PR has TWO "N" words never to be said, one these is NUCLEAR! CHINA #1 ruled by engineers, will hopefully take this on with Russian Help. Don't expect any help from NO NUKE Elon Musk or space ex.

[@xavierrodriguez2463]

BRIAN CAM wtf?

[@tennesseebilly]

Love your videos. Very informative and easy to follow. I have my grandsons watching them now.

[@jacklinebusobozi483]

Thanks for your videos. They are quite informative

[@AnitaJobby]

@04:59 Watch closely the explosion. It took less than 3 seconds to deploy the fire extinguishers. THAT’s impressive!

[@harKazoid86ShredderC-37]

This channel is brilliant! I hope you reach 1 million subscribers soon.

[@tobiaslawrence5199]

Thank you so much #Curious Droid. Your videos are awesome.

[@Capellix0001]

I love how you can rewatch these videos as if they are brand new

[@godspeed133]

If you think about it, that's a bit sad. It means we haven't advanced much as a species.

[@thatoneguy611]

godspeed133 we’re just slowing down a bit. Space travel is expecting a lot of advancement in the coming years.

[@godspeed133]

@@thatoneguy611 I hope so, and not all just driven by Spaceship.

[@animationspace8550]

@@godspeed133 I wouldn't say that nor do I think that is what the person was implying. I precieve it as when you watch these there is always more you can learn from them or they are just very watchable.

[@Ginny855]

Interesting video and nice shirt as usual! :)

[@atomretro8597]

Thanks Ginny855

[@akramfaiza3017]

You just got subscribed great idea .

[@drstewartshermanful]

Love your stuff man. Good job.

[@mhoppy6639]

Thank you. These vids just get better and better.

[@ravenlord4]

Very informative! I always associated nuclear space propulsion with an Orion drive. Thanks for detailing some of the other (less destructive) options :)

[@GeneCAu]

Very good explaination. Thank you and keep up the good work Lord Varys.

[@irontoad123]

he does lok like varys. hope he has better luck

[@armchairrevolutionary9548]

Looking forward to more vids.found it very interesting.cheers!

[@LightscapeAus]

Great summary :) It's inspiring to finally have a number of serious players focusing on a manned mars mission. Here's hoping we see boots on mars within this decade!

[@Reggy2000]

Paul, I enjoy all your topics of discussion and because you’re talking about experimental deep space engines. What about the plasma engines being developed a crossed the world or even the elusive magnetic engines although I don’t know how much info you will find on them!

[@josephgroves3176]

Reggy2000. Try looking up VASIMIR

[@yukeshvs9856]

Reggy2000 can link some videos related this topics please ?

[@NickDanzinger]

Any links you can share to a few plebs like us? :)

[@ScienceDiscoverer]

We need FTL engines!

[@Gentleman...Driver]

I dont think there will be a next space station in a while after ISS. The ISS did a good job in many things, but interrests shifted away from low earth orbit to the moon and to Mars. I dont think that any country will build a space station AND go to other places in the same time.

[@harbifm766766]

We should. Risk from nuclear energy are overblown

[@thermophile2106]

Nuclear power generators on earth are very safe. If a rocket blew up with a nuclear engine on it, the fallout could be way worse. Still worth the risk IMO.

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

Not the same risk.

[@rclv428]

If the payload is just a bunch of fuel like Uranium or Plutonium then it shouldn't be a big deal at all. No fission has taken place until it gets to space, therefore there would be no fission products to be spread into the environment.

[@CaptainVideoBlaster]

The problem with these is not the nuclear energy but the reliability of the launch rockets.

[@briancam_2000]

CHINA #1 ruled by engineers, will hopefully take this on with Russian Help.

[@markoj3512]

This video is a masterpice. The collected material, the accuracy of informations, the concise language and the smooth melody’s in the background! It is a masterpiece!

[@gabrielabate6020]

Excellent video, very informative!

[@gungadin7721]

If we want to move beyond the moon we must move beyond chemical rockets.

[@tamilcultureincanada8836]

Well said

[@mlungisimpofu1729]

you don't say 🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@mohit5496]

*basically move away from any rocket that uses Newton's third law of motion. There is a concept vehicle which uses laser beams for propulsion

[@videos906]

@@mohit5496 have the highest specific impulse...

[@GlitchMonki]

That short sleeve shirt is lit AF. Good educational video 👏

[@atomretro8597]

Thanks @MonkiJuan we aim to please

[@yuryeuceda8590]

Very good information and the way you do it is perfect.

[@scottmurayama5007]

Thank you for presenting such interesting scientific material. This kind of info is not that easy to find and you have put it down in one or two of your programs You are a positive addition to people who are want to learn more about science but who are simply interested amateurs. Keep up the good work, bald guy. We need and appreciate people like you.

[@MrWorld-hc5rs]

I like the use of Xenon-ion engines which are efficient for spaceships travelling between planets & in other deep space areas.

[@jasongooden917]

I think they should use chemical rockets to bring up parts to a moon based factory, and build the nuclear powered rockets for Mars there. Launching a light weight rocket from there would be easier, and safer.

[@alexsiemers7898]

That would be good in the long term, but probably not logistically worth it early on.

[@MrJoeFlorida]

Not practical

[@mr.q337]

Space station on the moon have been an ideas for decades now

[@leerman22]

You don't need nuclear to get to mars, but once infrastructure is established (LH2 storage) then nuclear tug ships with shadow shields make sense and deliver much larger payloads from LEO to drop it in a martian aerobrake trajectory.

[@DerBingle1]

And they could build the proper vehicle: a "flying saucer" design that would spin the the area where the crew spends most of their time. Weightlessness seems to be the biggest danger in space. But well not live to see it.

[@YanLipavsky]

Awesome as usual - thanks

[@framebrain2840]

nice video!! learned a lot!!

[@csdn4483]

One of my professors (my degree is in Nuclear Engineering) in college worked on the Kiwi and NERVA. He had a number of interesting stories about them. One of the things they did, not covered here, was do a destruction test where they let engine go without control. It was so powerful that it shock itself apart. He mentioned that they watched as the engine started shooting fuel rods out the nozzle as the engine sell destructed from the sheer amount of power and thrust it was putting out.

[@paulfeist]

Cs Dn ; That ONE test, that blew chunks of fuel rods all over Jackass Flats test area, is responsible for keeping NTR engines dead, politically, thanks to the environmental lobby being able to point to the STILL contaminated test area more than 50 years later and saying “see! It’s not safe!”. I love nuclear thermal engines, but whoever authorized that test should have been shot for treason!

[@jesseatwater393]

Tip #1 for making an educational video: Get a guy with a British accent. ;-)

[@jmbrowning6688]

until its someone from yorkshire :P

[@waldenschmidt6663]

Btw what's the name of this guy?

[@lillyanneserrelio2187]

@@waldenschmidt6663 Paul Shillito and he always wears a DIFFERENT snazzy shirt for EACH video. And he rocks them all.

[@johndonson1603]

@@jmbrowning6688 Birmingham.

[@owenwammes4052]

Ya most popular educational videos and show have a British Host or Narrator

[@andymansand8719]

You are good and so is your channel. Thank you for the videos

[@jbergene]

I have been listening to like.. 12 of your videos in the background while doing work and other things. I have no idea what youre talking about! haha! but you have a soothing voice and the low background music is nice.

[@densealloy]

With projects like NERVA and MSRE showing such promise over 50 odd years ago, it makes one wonder where society would be now if those and other programs had been allowed to continue. With the amazing efficiency of thermal rockets it's not too difficult to speculate that Mars missions would be something we would be talking about in the past tense in this day and age if NERVA would have continued. From asteroid mining to exploration of the Jovian system moons with a fuel tank refill right from the huge gas giant itself our knowledge of the solar system would be much further along today. As far as here traterrestrially, nuclear power could easily solve all of the world's energy needs and when I think of all the various technological advances that came about from the use of PWR, I wonder where society would be without the anti nuke stance that exists. The MSRE showed such amazing promise from the thorium breeder reactor cycle consuming nuclear waste and reducing storage times from tens of thousands of years to a few hundred to powering the world from essentially limitless supply of beach sand. Today we could be living in a different world with safe, essentially free electricity for everyone and all of the ramifications that go along with small modular emission free megawatt electrical power for developing countries. From limitless power production, electric vehicles, desalination for safe clean drinking water for everyone, to medical advancement with nuclear medicines. Affordable energy is proven to be the great key to end poverty and vastly improved people's lives. The space programs of the 60s and 70s and nuclear power were the fertile technological land our society of today was grown in and the positive reproductions we all benefit from everyday

[@FormulatedButterCoping]

Getting to Mars in 45 days sounds great! It is my understanding that when the people land, it will be 18 months before the planets align correctly for a return trip. I am starting to think that the ship will need a gravity chamber and the astronauts should sleep in them and spend as much time in them as possible to prevent eye damage and circulation damage. Of course, the ship is also going to need as much radiation protection as possible. I also think if the journey does ever happen, they will need to send food. fuel, and supplies first that can anchor into the soil so they won't blow away during the wind storms. Then they have to try to land close to the supplies. I think the trip to Mars will take years of calculations and planning. The astronauts should be in top physical and mental condition as damage to their bodies from space travel is to be expected.

[@clavo3352]

Mr. Shillito's delivery of information and narration was A+ all the way. This is great lay person, of the intellectually curious sort, intellectual stimulation. The nuclear propulsion, in-space- configured, does seem the most sensible. I would prefer a more tethered set up where the engine is more remote, say, a mile forward, or a quarter mile to the rear. Even a butterfly set up would be better than a Texas highway truck and boat trailer set up. Put the engine between two Mars going craft.

[@stuartshannon8561]

love your shirts. Also your videos are tops.

[@Jarrettthegoalie]

And now I know why the nuclear engine in Kerbal is called the NERV

[@sunnyjim1355]

Yeah, and I thought you needed 'nerv' to use it. XD

[@ztwntyn8]

What I want to say is that this is the first time in my life that I have been asked if I wanted to use nuclear anything.... wish I’d been asked before.....

[@lants8096]

Absolutely one of the best instructors on the internet. Mr. Droid, where do you get all of your knowledge)

[@MADHUGLOBAL]

i liked your shirts, your way of explaining is very calm & brilliant.

[@richardward5762]

Love this guys shirts, lol

[@TheStuart31]

If and when, the interest, in exploring the Solar system, reignites . Nuclear powered craft, are the best option. todate.

[@treelonmusk8324]

This page is by far the best updated information channel about whats going on in the space Industry right now

[@deeem2166]

awesome, love the idea.

[@pikachupika1446]

Nice Video. I hope I get selected as a flight surgeon astronaut for the upcoming Mars Mission.

[@josephgroves3176]

Pikachu Pika. You've got your work cut out then. Best of luck

[@tobuslieven]

3:11 That is a brilliant explanation of specific impulse. "How long in seconds one pound of propellant can deliver one pound of thrust." I've known about specific impulse for ages, but not really understood it before. Cheers.

[@ChilapaOfTheAmazons]

It's a simple explanation, unfortunately it's also completely incorrect. Check Wikipedia for the correct one.

[@calvinl2149]

Always enjoy and learn from your videos. Would love to see a follow-up video to this that references how realistic the "Pathfinder" shuttle using a Nerva engine from the show "For All Mankind" is.

[@benm5221]

Wow that was well explained. Kudos.

[@kvnmcinturff1]

I'm still holding out for Warp Drive. 😁

[@Valaplayss]

same here

[@mohit5496]

@Walter B possbile if we study quantum physics. They do exist at quantum level. We just have to figure out how to do that on large scale.

[@SFSAtlas]

@@mohit5496 they can also exist 7s8ng relativity

[@mwanikimwaniki6801]

@@mohit5496 quantum physics does not operate in the same manner on larger magnitudes.

[@k3kboi665]

i love the narators woice its wery calming.

[@dimvalsgames9721]

Well your vids rule pal and well said so i will subscribe for more.! Have a nice week fella. :>)

[@avejst]

Thanks for sharing :-)

[@ArtoPekkanen]

What I think of nuclear rocket engines? Whelp ...SOUNDS AWESOME LET'S DO DIS! :)

[@MohammedIqlasUddin]

I literally woke up on notification to watch this :) #notifSquad

[@ian.piepenbrock]

Mohammed Iqlas Uddin Great way to start your day! Goodmorning :)

[@MohammedIqlasUddin]

Thank You @Ian

[@TzvikaLipsky]

As always great stuff lord varys

[@aarondunn5029]

I realy enjoyed watching this vidio grate vidio quality easy to understand and clear audio 🙂

[@Fanunic]

Lmao so that's why it's called the NERV rocket in KSP

[@BenjaminGoose]

k

[@beoknez6145]

im addicted to this game, stop mentioning it

[@andrewpotapenkoff7723]

Dear mr. Curious Droid, mr. Korolev's name sounds a bit differently: there is a little confusioun about letter "e" there. We have two letters for different sounds: actual "E", wich sounds like in Chelomey, or Chernobyl; and letter "ё', or E with double dot above, wich sounds like "yo" in "Yorkshire". This confusion is because it's like everybody knows here, in Russia, wich letter is where, it's obvious for us, but not for foreigners. So, mr. Korolev should sound like "Korolyoff", i guess. Same thing with name "Fedor" (Emelianenko), wich should be "Fyodor". All of this is not important, but, i couldn't resist to mention about names overall and this name in particular. Thank you for great videos and lovely shirts!

[@aprobator]

"Koroleuv" is more exact variant

[@augustinemichael7254]

Thanks....am feeling pretty enlightened today...

[@rdubugnon]

one pronounces KA - RA - LYÓF (emphasize the last syllabe)

[@keithmcleod5662]

I am enlighten by your stupidity of making the "E", your contribution to space and science and this article!

[@nicobloffer]

The background music is intoxicating. I love it.

[@deeman1643]

Well done!

[@luis180386]

I say yes to nuclear powered rockets

[@acommunist1607]

We shall form an organization by 2024, nuclear energy will be put up as an option, by us

[@Wanttono]

i'm sick of all these good ideas not being used, everyone alive today will be dead before 1% of us are in space and other planets :(

[@ceff01]

7.04048277596178E−8, that's the total number of people to go to space in a lifetime

[@johndonson1603]

@@ceff01 Good odds 👍

[@ceff01]

@@johndonson1603 cheers I forgot how I worked it out now lol

[@maxim6088]

bruh...you know that these things are getting tested all the time? Russia is working on these type of engines, pretty sure one exploded in the summer 2019, or something...but explosions mean progress

[@cybergothika6906]

The only good idea about energy came from Nikola Tesla, and look what happened, the energy mafia didn't like it. If you're going to innovate on energy, be smart and clean. Avoiding things that can pollute or radiate is smart, avoiding make greedy corporations happy is definitely the way to go.

[@hood1941]

Excelent video, thank you.

[@mhtyler]

I'd been looking for an explanation of NTP and specific impulse that I could understand. this is it. well done.

[@Lewis360]

I think the real problem is the scientific illiteracy of people (especially some NGOs like GreenPeace) they are stopping the advancements of science for their influence on policy. We must first educate people, and then limit the influence of NGOs. As for this solution I think it's a great answer to challenges we face for Mars voyages, I think only a multi government funded project can achieve that, say Russia and the USA (too many members will stall the project).

[@cdreid99999]

Seriously youre lack of intellect and education is astonishing. The average member of greenpeace has 4 years of education and 40 iq pints on you idiot.

[@Jupiter__001_]

@@cdreid99999 (X) to doubt.

[@drivingschool11]

Education turns controversy, politicians afraid of loosing their own positions because, etc. .etc...

[@michaelskywalker3089]

I agree, it is the anti-scientific and anti-technological mindset of so-called "progressive" groups, right or left that help to impede progress towards solar system exploration. Better communication on the social and material benefits of space exploration and study helps, but the influence of political and industry leaders such as Elon Musk also serves to defeat the narrow mindset of those who can only envision a future within Earth's horizon. Amir Bright , your obvious intellectual skill and apparent educational experience is astonishingly great!

[@CZOV]

Oh they are very literate, thats why they are stopping it, to sell their own "green" shit ideas. Where do u think they get their money from, outer space?

[@hglenn55]

If nuclear is the best option then it should be used. Scare tactics will make it difficult but drive on to the stars.

[@kapa1611]

i think its not only scare tactics.. as he said in the video: shielding the crew from the radiation adds a lot of weight to the rocket.. that might be a serious issue given that transporting ppl is a weight intensive thing to begin with!

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

Its not "scare tactics," it's genuine justifiable terror at the thought of an accident. Not the foolish terror of an ignorant public - the educated terror among nuclear rocket propulsion engineers and scientists. (The public has mostly never heard of it.) It's still a good idea. But the fears are legit.

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

kapa1611 The weight of shielding doesn't have to be so great. You just let the thing irradiate the whole universe, except for one small cone where the rest of the ship is. One small, thick wall of lead between the reactor and everything else- a few tons total. "A few tons" is a LOT on a spacecraft, but it's quite feasible.

[@briancam_2000]

Never Happen in weak and wimpy usa nasa. STOP CASSINI: The Plutonium Probe Campaign 1990 to 2006 + successfully enlisted Senators Markey MA and Barbara Boxer CA and many other NO NUKE Anti-Science, Fearmongers POL's and delayed Cassini many YEARS with extra Studies and legal costs. NASA PR has TWO "N" words never to be said, one these is NUCLEAR! CHINA #1 ruled by engineers, will hopefully take this on with Russian Help. Don't expect any help from NO NUKE Elon Musk or space ex.

[@hglenn55]

If you look I think SpaceX is actively looking at acquiring nuclear material. For what I don't know.

[@roxannamason4400]

"Radiation,Weightlessness and Physiological issues" Thank you for mentioning the later, a very underrated problem. Once the TMI engine ignites the reality of PONR, Point Of No Return, will become reality and possibly panic in one or more crew members certainly sometime during the 10 month coast to Mars. I'm waiting for the government and private industry to give up on man to mars and focus on the moon for now until a propulsion breakthrough happens lowering transit time to Mars to weeks vs months.

[@markandhappy]

Congratulations on attaining 1,000,000 subscribers

[@tossalot]

Can you please put your shirts on the next trip to Mars and beyond? 😉

[@sunnyjim1355]

That's a good idea... we won't need navigation beacons then, could just look and see them. :D

[@inquaanate2393]

‘Tesla roaster’

[@HACKINGMADEFUN]

Curious Droid what is that?

[@smorrow]

A joke.

[@inquaanate2393]

Dark hadu we haven’t destroyed ourselves yet so I think we are going somewhere actually.

[@twistedyogert]

www.google.com/search?q=tesla+on+fire&num=30&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqtZqE-p7ZAhUFpY8KHXqQB_EQ_AUICygC&biw=2560&bih=1284#imgrc=jLsL-cGCHJlbWM:

[@inquaanate2393]

Dark hadu the world is the most peaceful and prosperous it’s ever been. You’re dumb

[@wilburcollins8342]

about time!!!