Back in 2021, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) along with NASA (National Aeronautical Space Administration) created the DRACO (Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations) program. The primary goal was to develop and demonstrate a NTP system that is capable of enabling rapid and reliable operation between the Earth and moon. The companies responsible for the design of this rocket were General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Blue Origin. After the successful launches between 2027-2028, NASA and DARPA provided more funding for nuclear propulsion, giving rise to new programs.

One of the programs DARPA and NASA created was DRAMO (Demonstration Rocket for Agile Mars Operations) where General Atomics and Lockheed Martin were awarded the contracts to design and integrate an NTP rocket for an unmanned mission to Mars. Since Mars is, at its closest, 142 times the distance from the Moon to the Earth, the DRAMO rocket would have to meet manufacture a far more efficient and powerful rocket. The launch dates for the program were pushed further back due to the challenges faced below:

1) NTP system has to be LEU (Low Enriched Uranium)

2) Achieving high specific impulse under controlled nuclear reaction

3) Difficulties cooling the reactor

After failure to meet the launch date, NASA and DARPA awarded an additional contract to Red Atomics through proposing a solution to the design. Through the research lead by Seung Hyum Nam at the Korea Advanced Insitute of Science and Technology, we suggested the integration of moderation in the NTR system. On nuclear power plants, moderators are used to slow down the speeds of neutrons for the particles to more easily collide with Uranium-235. The easier it is for the Uranium-235 to absorb these neutrons, the more efficiently fission will occur. Since the LEU fuel element is similar to the ore used in nuclear power plants, selecting the optimal materials for the moderator is key to a successful mission. 

Through consulting with research facilities and conducting neutronics research of our own, we decided Zirconium Hydride (ZrH1.8) is the most optimal material for efficiency at high temperature in the reactor. We are currently in the manufacturing stage of the program and are set to launch on March 25th, 2030. If the DRAMO rocket reaches and return to the Earth, we are guaranteed a parentship alongside Lockheed Martin and General Atomics, for the NASA Ares Program: the first manned mission to Mars.