NASA wants to split atoms in space to power a ship. Right now, we move spacecraft by burning fuel and shooting out the gas created in the reaction. But bringing up all that fuel and oxygen to burn it is heavy! So NASA wants to power a different kind of engine - an ion engine - with NUCLEAR FISSION, meaning we’d get places FASTER and travel FURTHER! NASA is planning to test this on an upcoming mission to MARS. For more on THAT…subscribe! #NASA #space #spacecraft #engine #nuclear