SPACE/COSMOS
Ohio State scientists advance focus on nuclear propulsion
Next-gen concept doubles rocket potential, study finds
Ohio State University
COLUMBUS, Ohio – New developments in nuclear thermal propulsion technologies may soon enable advanced space missions to the farthest reaches of the solar system.
Leading these advances are researchers at The Ohio State University: Engineers are developing a nuclear propulsion system that uses liquid uranium to directly heat rocket propellant as an alternative to solid fuel elements used by traditional nuclear propulsion systems.
Their concept, called the centrifugal nuclear thermal rocket (CNTR), is specially designed to improve rocket performance while simultaneously minimizing any engine risk.
While similar breakthroughs in the field have focused more on affordability than performance, CNTR potentially offers a substantial advantage for future crewed space missions even compared to other types of nuclear-powered systems in that it can approximately double an engine’s efficiency, said Dean Wang, a senior member of the project and an associate professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State.
“In recent years, there has been quite an increased interest in nuclear thermal propulsion technology as we contemplate returning humans to the moon and working in cis-lunar space,” said Wang. “But beyond it, a new system is needed, as traditional chemical engines may not be feasible.”
Chemical engines have been used in spaceflight since the very beginning of the space age. However, they are limited in thrust, and use large quantities of propellant. Consequently, missions to the outer reaches of the solar system can take a very long time – nine years in the case of the New Horizons spacecraft that flew by Pluto.
Because of these limitations, future missions will require propulsion systems that can reduce travel time, increase the amount of material sent on the mission, or both, if researchers want to safely send astronauts to far-off destinations — all vital reasons why demonstrating the potential of these approaches is so important, said Wang.
“The longer you are in space, the more susceptible you are to all types of health risks,” he said. “So if we can make that any shorter, it’d be very beneficial.”
If the team’s design is successful, implementing their engine in future rockets could make it easier to travel farther on less fuel, as the highest specific impulse — the amount of thrust achievable from a specific amount of propellant — of a chemical engine is about 450 seconds. Nuclear propulsion engines based on designs tested in the 1960s achieved approximately 900 seconds and, according to the team, a CNTR could achieve even higher values.
Utilizing nuclear thermal propulsion would also mean more flexibility for mission operations, as rockets could take advantage of additional flight trajectories not possible with chemical engines, to help reach deep-space targets in shorter periods of time. More notably, because these systems can utilize a range of potential substances as propellant, widespread use could quickly facilitate the development of in-space resources such as asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects, said Wang.
Overall, these heightened capabilities could allow quicker round-trip human missions to Mars as well as support novel one-way robotic missions to the outer planets, including Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, said Spencer Christian, a PhD student in engineering at Ohio State. Under John Horack, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State, Christian leads prototype construction of CNTR.
“You could have a safe one-way trip to Mars in six months, for example, as opposed to doing the same mission in a year,” said Christian. “Depending on how well it works, the prototype CNTR engine is pushing us towards the future.”
Despite these newfound avenues for increased space exploration, like with any emerging innovation, there are many engineering challenges that still have to be addressed, said Wang.
“We have a very good understanding of the physics of our design, but there are still technical challenges that we need to overcome,” he said.
Many of these challenges were detailed in a study the team recently published in the journal Acta Astronautica. Some potential hurdles include ensuring that the methods used for startup, operation and shutdown avoid instabilities as well as envisioning ways to minimize the loss of uranium fuel and accommodate potential engine failures.
This team’s CNTR concept is expected to reach design readiness within the next five years — but in preparing their model for potential next-generation use, researchers are most looking forward to showing how well it could fare under extreme conditions.
After all, a final laboratory demonstration will likely help inform the direction of future nuclear thermal propulsion technologies. “We need to keep space nuclear propulsion as a consistent priority in the future, so that technology can have time to mature,” said Wang. “It’s a huge benefit that we can’t afford to miss out on.”
The team’s effort was supported by a grant provided by NASA.
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Contact: Dean Wang, Wang.12239@osu.edu
Written by: Tatyana Woodall, Woodall.52@osu.edu
Journal
Acta Astronautica
Article Title
Addressing challenges to engineering feasibility of the centrifugal nuclear thermal rocket
What 3I/ATLAS tells us about other solar systems
Michigan State University
Sept. 11, 2025
The fleeting interstellar visitor offers MSU astrophysicists clues about comets beyond our solar system
Why this matters:
MSU uncovered images of 3I/ATLAS from two months before it was detected as an interstellar object. These images indicate that the comet was active further from the sun than expected, indicating that its solar system is different from our own.
It is only the third interstellar object ever detected.
3I/ATLAS gives scientists a rare chance to study material from beyond our solar system.
3I/ATLAS will only be visible for a few months before it disappears beyond telescope range, making MSU’s early images especially valuable.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The earliest images of 3I/ATLAS, newly uncovered by Michigan State University, reveal how the interstellar object evolved as it traveled through our solar system — and how other distant solar systems might be different from our own.
Even before the comet was discovered in early July, it was hiding among the stars, too faint to be noticeable. In a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, MSU researchers combed through images from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, and found evidence of 3I/ATLAS as early as May.
The images suggest that the object may have been active for longer than scientists expected, with clues hidden in its comet-like tail. They also provide scientists with more information about an object that will only be visible in the sky for a few more months before it zooms beyond even the most powerful telescope’s reach.
“There are so few interstellar objects that we’ve detected in our solar system, and they each seem to be unique,” said Adina Feinstein, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at MSU and lead author of the study. “3I/ATLAS gives us an opportunity to study other solar systems up close and personal, without actually needing to visit them.”
MSU published the first scientific paper just days after 3I/ATLAS was spotted. It’s dubbed “3I” because it’s only the third interstellar object detected so far, and ATLAS comes from the telescope network that identified it — NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System.
Since then, scientists around the world have rushed to observe and document as much as they can about the object before it’s gone. Feinstein said papers are published nearly daily as the astrophysics community works at a frenzied pace.
Interstellar objects aren’t Feinstein’s usual field of study, but she uses TESS data to look for distant planets that pass in front of their stars. Occasionally, TESS observes the plane where our solar system’s planets are aligned — the very plane where 3I/ATLAS was traveling. Feinstein challenged herself to use this data to contribute to research that has captured global imaginations.
“As soon as I realized 3I/ATLAS should be in these TESS images, I downloaded them as quickly as I could,” Feinstein said.
After filtering out light spillover from nearby stars, the team combined multiple images taken at different points across 3I/ATLAS’s orbit to create a sharper picture. This technique made the interstellar object pop clearly amid a sea of pixels.
The additional two months of images told a story of a solar system very different from our own. In our system, comets that approach the sun release dust and gas — mostly water — from their surface as the temperature increases. But photos showed activity from 3I/ATLAS farther from the sun than researchers expected. That means it’s likely releasing other molecules, like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
“That gives us an idea of what comets and asteroids could be made of in systems beyond our own sun,” Feinstein said. “It’s always been assumed that other systems are different from ours, but now we have evidence of how different they might be.”
Researchers expect 3I/ATLAS to be visible for several more months. In the meantime, MSU’s research team will continue to study and learn as much as they can about the interstellar interloper, including Assistant Professor Darryl Seligman, a co-author on the paper who also wrote the first 3I/ATLAS paper.
They’ll also use observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to learn more about what 3I/ATLAS is made of.
“Capturing as many observations from this prediscovery period, where 3I/ATLAS may be in telescope images but wasn’t previously identified, is essential to our understanding of how these objects ‘turn on’ as they approach our sun,” said John Noonan, co-author and postdoctoral fellow at Auburn University. “These interstellar objects have likely not been warmed significantly in millions, if not billions, of years, and any opportunity to see how they responded to that early heating is of interest.”
The new research highlights why all-sky surveys are crucial. Missions like NASA’s TESS were designed to observe stars and potential planets, but they also provide huge datasets that can help astrophysicists solve mysteries about comets, asteroids and interstellar objects. Federal funding is the backbone of what keeps these critical programs going, Feinstein said.
“Learning about other solar systems places humanity into context,” Feinstein said. “One of life’s greatest questions is ‘are we alone in the universe?’ Each NASA mission gets us a little bit closer to answering this big, overarching question.”
By Bethany Mauger
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Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for 170 years. One of the world’s leading public research universities, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery to make a better, safer, healthier world for all while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 400 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
For generations, Spartans have been changing the world through research. Federal funding helps power many of the discoveries that improve lives and keep America at the forefront of innovation and competitiveness. From lifesaving cancer treatments to solutions that advance technology, agriculture, energy and more, MSU researchers work every day to shape a better future for the people of Michigan and beyond. Learn more about MSU’s research impact powered by partnership with the federal government.
For MSU news on the web, go to MSUToday or x.com/MSUnews.
Journal
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Article Publication Date
11-Sep-2025
Volcanic emissions of reactive sulfur gases may have shaped early mars climate, making it more hospitable to life
University of Texas at Austin
image:
Sulfur crystals found inside a rock after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over it and crush it on May 30, 2024. This discovery supports new research led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin on what types of sulfur would be present on Mars billions of years ago.
view moreCredit: NASA
While the early Mars climate remains an open question, a new study suggests its atmosphere may have been hospitable to life due to volcanic activity which emitted sulfur gases that contributed to a greenhouse warming effect.
This finding comes from a study published in Science Advances, led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.
Using data from the composition of Martian meteorites, the researchers ran more than 40 computer simulations with varied temperatures, concentrations, and chemistry to estimate how much carbon, nitrogen, and sulfide gases may have been emitted on early Mars.
Instead of the high concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) that previous Mars climate models predicted, their research shows volcanic activity on Mars around 3-4 billion years ago may have led to high concentrations of a range of chemically “reduced” forms of sulfur – which are highly reactive. This includes sodium sulfide (H₂S), disulfur (S₂) and possibly sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) – an extremely potent greenhouse gas.
According to lead author Lucia Bellino, a doctoral student at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, this may have made for a unique Martian environment – one that may have been hospitable to certain forms of life.
“The presence of reduced sulfur may have induced a hazy environment which led to the formation of greenhouse gases, such as SF6, that trap heat and liquid water,” said Bellino. “The degassed sulfur species and redox conditions are also found in hydrothermal systems on Earth that sustain diverse microbial life.”
Previous Mars studies have researched how the release of gases at the surface, often through volcanic eruptions, may have impacted the planet’s atmosphere. In contrast, this study simulated how sulfur changed as it moved throughout geologic processes, including how it separated from other minerals as it was incorporated into magma layers below the planet’s crust. This is important because it gives a more realistic sense of the chemical state of the gas before it’s released at the surface where it can shape the early climate conditions of Mars.
The study also revealed that sulfur may have been frequently changing forms. While Martian meteorites have high concentrations of reduced sulfur, the Martian surface contains sulfur that’s chemically bonded to oxygen.
“This indicates that sulfur cycling – the transition of sulfur to different forms – may have been a dominant process occurring on early Mars,” said Bellino.
Last year, while the team was in the midst of its research, NASA made a discovery that seemed to back their findings. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover rolled over and cracked open a rock, revealing elemental sulfur. While Mars is known for being rich in sulfurous minerals, it was the first time the mineral had been found in pure form, unbound to oxygen.
“We were very excited to see the news from NASA and a large outcrop of elemental sulfur,” said Chenguang Sun, Bellino’s advisor and an assistant professor at the Jackson School’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “One of the key takeaways from our research is that as S₂ was emitted, it would precipitate as elemental sulfur. When we started working on this project, there were no such known observations.”
As the team moves forward, they will use their computer simulations to investigate other processes that would have been essential to sustain life on Mars, including the source of water on early Mars, and whether volcanic activity could have provided a large reservoir of water on the planet’s surface. They also seek to understand whether the reduced forms of sulfur may have served as a food source for microbes in an early climate that resembled Earth’s hydrothermal systems.
Mars is far from the Sun, and today, it’s typically cold with an average temperature of -80 degrees Fahrenheit. Bellino hopes that climate modeling experts can use her team’s research to predict how warm the early Mars climate might have been, and, if microbes were present, how long they could have existed in a warmer atmosphere.
The research was funded by The University of Texas at Austin Center for Planetary Systems Habitability, the National Science Foundation, and the Heising-Simons Foundation
Journal
Science Advances
Article Title
Volcanic emission of reduced sulfur species shaped the climate of early Mars
Article Publication Date
13-Sep-2025
A figure from the study showing a schematic illustration of sulfur cycling from an evolving crustal magmatic system on early Mars.
Credit
Bellino et al.
Space telescope Plato arrived at ESA’s test center by boat
European Space Agency
image:
On 1 September 2025, a boat transporting the European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft to ESTEC, arrived in the Netherlands via the Rhine River.
view moreCredit: ESA-SJM Photography
The European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft has safely arrived at ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands. There, engineers will complete the spacecraft by connecting its solar panels and sunshield, and carry out a series of critical tests to confirm that Plato is fit for launch and ready for its planet-hunting mission in space.
The two main parts of the Plato spacecraft were recently joined together at OHB's cleanroom in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. On 1 September, Plato arrived in the Netherlands by boat from Germany via the Rhine River. The vessel transporting it moored a few kilometres away from ESTEC.
From there, Plato was driven to ESA’s centre by special transport, carefully unloaded, and then moved to a cleanroom.
What's next for Plato
In the coming weeks, engineers will mount the remaining essential part of the spacecraft: the combined sunshield and solar arrays module.
With the spacecraft complete, testing will begin. To determine that it can be safely launched, Plato will undergo intense shaking and sound ‘bombardments’ during vibration and acoustic tests.
After these, the spacecraft will be placed into the Large Space Simulator – Europe’s largest vacuum chamber – to verify that it can withstand the extreme temperatures and emptiness of space and work well.
Plato is scheduled to launch on an Ariane 6 rocket in December 2026 on its quest to search for Earth-like planets orbiting stars similar to our Sun.
For this, the spacecraft is equipped with 26 ultrasensitive cameras designed to capture the tiniest variations in the intensity of a star’s light. When planets pass in front of their host stars, they dim the starlight we receive. By capturing and analysing this dimming effect, Plato can spot new exoplanets.
The mission’s focus is to discover planets that circle Sun-like stars in the habitable zone – the ‘goldilocks’ region, where the temperature is just right for liquid water to exist on a planet’s surface. These planets take several months to complete an orbit because of their location: not too close, not too far from their star. To capture them, Plato’s 26 eyes will stare at the same region of the sky continuously for a minimum of two years.
This will also enable Plato to study ‘starquakes’, encoded in subtle changes of a star’s brightness and provide scientists with unique insights into the interiors and ages of stars.
Like other groundbreaking missions such as Webb and Euclid, Plato will peer into space vastness from an orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2), 1.5 million kilometres away.
From this vantage point, the mission will inspect more than 200 000 stars over its nominal lifetime and reveal whether the environment we enjoy on Earth can exist also elsewhere in our galaxy.
On 1 September 2025, the European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft arrived in Katwijk, the Netherlands by boat. From there, a truck drove the container with Plato to ESTEC’s cleanroom.
After arrival at ESTEC, the European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft was unloaded from its container and moved into the cleanroom. Here it is tilted to a horizontal position on a rolling platform. The spacecraft is under protective film, and all 26 cameras have gold-coloured covers.
The combined solar panel and sunshield module, which will be connected to the main spacecraft in the coming weeks, is also visible in the background.
After arrival at the cleanroom at ESTEC, the European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft was moved to a tent providing the clean air needed for its sensitive optical instruments. Here it is still covered by a protective film. The spacecraft can be seen in horizontal transport configuration on a rolling platform.
After arrival at ESTEC, the European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft was moved to a tent providing a clean environment for its sensitive instruments and cameras. Here, the spacecraft is rotated upright from its horizontal transport position.
On 1 September, the European Space Agency’s Plato spacecraft arrived at ESA’s technical heart ESTEC in the Netherlands. There, the spacecraft was moved out of its container into a tent providing clean air to protect the instruments and cameras. The spacecraft’s 26 cameras can be seen pointing upwards in this photo.
Credit
ESA-SJM Photography
About Plato
ESA’s Plato (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) will use 26 cameras to study terrestrial exoplanets in orbits up to the habitable zone of Sun-like stars.
Plato's scientific instrumentation, consisting of the cameras and electronic units, is provided through a collaboration between ESA and the Plato Mission Consortium. This Consortium is composed of various European research centres, institutes and industries, led by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The spacecraft is being built and assembled by the industrial Plato Core Team led by OHB together with Thales Alenia Space and Beyond Gravity.
A planet crossing starspots reveals the detailed architecture of the TOI-3884 system
National Institutes of Natural Sciences
image:
An artist’s impression of the TOI-3884 system: the super-Neptune TOI-3884b passing in front of the red dwarf star TOI-3884, which hosts a large starspot. (using generative AI and image editing tools).
view moreCredit: Mayuko Mori, Astrobiology Center
To capture the spot-crossing transits, the team used the multicolor MuSCAT3 and MuSCAT4 instruments mounted on the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) 2-meter telescopes. Between February and March 2024, they observed three transits and successfully detected clear spot-crossing signals. The color dependence of the signal provides critical information about starspot temperature.
Light curve analysis revealed that the starspots are about 200 K cooler than the stellar surface (3150 K) and cover roughly 15% of the visible stellar disk. Also, the three transit light curves show changes in the shape of the spot-crossing signal. Because these variations occurred over a short timescale, they are more likely caused by stellar rotation than by spot evolution.
To confirm this, the team carried out a photometric monitoring campaign using the global network of LCO 1-meter telescopes. From December 2024 to March 2025, they measured the star’s brightness variations several times per night and detected clear periodic fluctuations. This revealed, for the first time, that the stellar rotation period is 11.05 days.
The measured rotation period was consistent with the spot position shifts inferred from the transit observations, enabling the team to obtain a unique solution for the system geometry. They found that the stellar spin axis and the planet’s orbital axis are misaligned by about 62°, revealing that TOI-3884 is a highly tilted planetary system. Such large tilts are typically attributed to past gravitational interactions with massive planets or stellar companions—yet no such companions are known to exist, making this system particularly intriguing.
Light curves (bottom) of three spot-crossing transits of TOI-3884b observed with MuSCAT3 and MuSCAT4, together with models (top) showing the relative positions of the planet and starspot during each event. From left to right, the panels correspond to three different transit epochs. The four colors represent observations taken in four different wavelength bands (g, r, i, z).
Credit
Mayuko Mori, Astrobiology Center
Journal
The Astronomical Journal
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Multiband, Multiepoch Photometry of the Spot-crossing System TOI-3884: Refined System Geometry and Spot Properties
Article Publication Date
8-Sep-2025
European researchers present an innovative mission concept in the hidden caves of the moon
A scientific team from the Space Robotics Lab at the University of Malaga that participates in this project tests and validates three robots on the volcanic island of Lanzarote (Spain)
University of Malaga
image:
A scientific team from the Space Robotics Lab at the University of Malaga that participates in this project tests and validates three robots on the volcanic island of Lanzarote (Spain)
view moreCredit: Aerial Skylight Robots/ University of Malaga
Lava tunnels on planetary bodies near Earth are promising locations for future base camps, as they bring natural protection against radiation and meteorite impacts. However, exploration remains difficult due to harsh conditions and restricted access.
Now, a European consortium, which includes the Space Robotics Laboratory at the University of Malaga, has designed an innovative lava tunnel exploration mission concept. This concept has just been published in the scientific journal Science Robotics. It comprises a team of three heterogeneous robots that collaborate autonomously to explore and map these extreme environments efficiently, and they are being tested in caves of Lanzarote (Spain) with a view to the Moon.
This mission concept is divided into four phases: Cooperative mapping of the area surrounding the entrance to the lava tunnel (phase 1); deployment of a sensorized payload cube ejected down into the cave to collect initial data (phase 2); rappelling of a scout rover through the entrance (phase 3); and exploration and detailed 3D mapping of the interior (phase 4).
A field test carried out on the volcanic island of Lanzarote in February 2023 demonstrated the technological capabilities of the consortium led by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), with the participation of the University of Malaga and the Spanish company GMV.
The results not only confirm the technical feasibility of the concept but also demonstrate the potential of collaborative robotic systems for use in future missions to the Moon or Mars. Therefore, the study provides a valuable boost for the development of autonomous robotic solutions in the context of planetary exploration.
The Space Robotics Laboratory at the UMA
The mission of the Space Robotics Laboratory at the UMA is to research and develop novel methods and techniques that help to increase autonomy in space robotics, covering both planetary and orbital scenarios. In recent years it has maintained an intense collaboration with the European Space Agency, developing algorithms for planning roads in planetary exploration vehicles (rovers), and increasing its autonomy.
Moreover, the aim of the laboratory is to train future engineers in the field of space robotics, training students from the School of Industrial Engineering at UMA to carry out internships and thesis in this topic. Most of their projects are conducted in collaboration with national and international research institutions through joint projects or technology transfer contracts with companies and research organizations.
Bibliography:
Raúl DomÃnguez et al. Cooperative robotic exploration of a planetary skylight surface and lava cave. Sci. Robot.10,eadj9699(2025).DOI:10.1126/scirobotics.adj9699
A scientific team from the Space Robotics Lab at the University of Malaga that participates in this project tests and validates three robots on the volcanic island of Lanzarote (Spain)
Credit
CoRobXTeam/ University of Malaga
A scientific team from the Space Robotics Lab at the University of Malaga that participates in this project tests and validates three robots on the volcanic island of Lanzarote (Spain)
Credit
University of Malaga
Journal
Science Robotics
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Cooperative robotic exploration of a planetary skylight surface and lava cave
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