NASA's Prometheus: Fire, Smoke And Mirrors

Posted on: Apr. 7th, 2005 || Source: space.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

NASA's Prometheus program to employ nuclear reactors in space is a work in progress – viewed as a key building block of the space agency's vision for space exploration.

Shortly after the programmatic liftoff of Prometheus, NASA had its eyes on the Jupiter Icy Moon Mission (JIMO). This premier outing pushed by electric-propulsion engines would study three ice-covered Galilean moons -- Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with JIMO relaying oodles of data about the moons’ origin, evolution, and to scope out any potential for faraway life.

But JIMO has now been deferred. With a launch date of 2015 and a mission design life of 20 years, the flagship mission was lowered to half mast.

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