According to Director Anatoly Perminov Russia’s Roscosmos Federal Space Agency and NASA are to meet and discuss the development of a nuclear powered spacecraft.
In addition to NASA and Roscosmos, other nations, such as Japan, Germany, France and possibly China, with high level of reactor manufacturing technology are expected to be in attendance at the April 15 meeting. Nuclear powered crafts are being considered as a means for achieving manned flights to Mars and beyond. The goal is to complete a nuclear engine design by 2012 at an estimated cost of $600 million. Perminov said the majority of the funding is expected to come from Russia’s own Rosatom nuclear corporation.