Rolls-Royce Developing Nuclear Engine for Space Travel

Illustration of Rolls-Royce’s nuclear micro-reactor at work. (Image: Rolls-Royce Holdings) The Rolls-Royce brand might be known for its exorbitantly luxurious cars, but those $300,000 sedans are technically now under BMW’s umbrella. Rolls-Royce Holdings, a company that’s remained separate from the auto brand since the late 1990s, nowadays focuses on carbon-free energy and aerospace innovations. Its latest project? A nuclear engine that it hopes will power trips to the moon and Mars.

Rolls-Royce’s micro-reactor will use uranium to fuel nuclear fission, according to the company. Fission is the process of using a neutron to assail a single atom, which releases energy when split apart. Because uranium also releases neutrons when split, it’s the most common element used in fission; nuclear power plants can rely on the fission process to repeat itself, thus producing a chain reaction that plants can then control.

Aerospace companies have typically forgone nuclear fission-powered propulsion in favor of chemical-based mechanisms, despite fission’s safe and long-standing use in things like metal refineries and submarines. This gives Rolls-Royce a unique chance to swoop in and shake the space sector—something it’s been preparing to do since 2021 when it gathered $600 million in funding to support its new space innovations division. “To explore space, you need reliable power,” said head of innovation products and services Jake Thompson in a company video. “You need power that works when there’s no sunlight, power that works when there’s no fuel, power that works when there’s no oxygen…A traditional mission to the moon or Mars using chemical rockets would have to carry tons and tons of fuel. A nuclear reactor uses only a few grams of uranium.”

(Image: Rolls-Royce Holdings)

According to Thompson, Rolls-Royce’s micro-reactor will someday drive trips to the moon, Mars, and beyond. It could also be used to power satellites and any lunar bases we launch in the future. Not having to carry bulk fuel means fission-powered spacecraft can hold larger payloads or reach their destinations quicker, making missions more efficient for organizations like NASA or the European Space Agency (ESA).

As far as a timeline goes, the Rolls-Royce reactor is reportedly in its “concept, design, development, and testing phase,” which is a vague way of saying it’s nowhere near ready to officially announce or unveil. Still, Rolls-Royce says it’ll have a micro-reactor ready to send to the moon by 2029.

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