NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy have signed a memorandum establishing a framework for collaboration on nuclear power and propulsion for civil space exploration. NASA announced the agreement on October 8 and said it would take effect November 1.
The framework spans research, fuel production, testing, launch integration, and operations. NASA identified safety as a central requirement across that work. The announcement also described continued cooperation on fission and radioisotope power systems.
Among the examples discussed were power and heater systems for the Dragonfly mission to Titan and heater units for the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin Mars rover. These are different applications within a broader collaboration, rather than a single new spacecraft project. Readers can consult NASA’s full announcement for the agreement’s stated scope and the missions it references.