The U.S. space agency will aim to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars—a first—in a bid to show that nuclear propulsion can be used to send missions into deep space

The mission, called Space Reactor-1 Freedom (SR-1 Freedom), is set to launch in December 2028. This mission aims to showcase the use of nuclear fission in space to power electric thrusters. While nuclear technology has been around for decades, it lacked the drive, purpose, destination, and leadership—until now.

The agency’s leader said new plans and timelines for the coming decade aim to create a permanent foothold by humans on another world and inspire Americans.

If you were to stand on the surface of Mars in two years and look up to the night sky, you might see a bright streak flying across the heavens, followed a few minutes later by another. Rather than flecks of space stuff, they would be satellites on a ...

On March 27, 1989, the Soviet Union's Phobos 2 mission to Mars' moons ended in failure. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com] But the whole mission was definitely not a failure. Phobos 2

Senior NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding said NASA’s goal is to “establish a presence” on the moon in the near future. The Artemis II mission is expected to launch Wednesday evening on a journey around the moon.

NASA is poised to launch a historic spaceflight around the moon on Wednesday. CBS News senior national correspondent Mark Strassman spoke with NASA administrator Jared Isaacman about the Artemis II mission.