page_title: Project Prometheus
section_title: Missions
hierarchical_section_title: Project Prometheus / Missions
context_page_description: Project Prometheus/Project Promethian was established in 2003 by NASA to develop nuclear-powered systems for long-duration space missions. This was NASA's first serious foray into nuclear spacecraft propulsion since the cancellation of the SNTP project in 1995. The project was cancelled in 2005.
  Its budget shrank from $252.6 million in 2005 to only $100 million in 2006, $90 million of which was for closeout costs on cancelled contracts.
context_section_description: Missions planned to involve Prometheus Nuclear Systems and Technology included:
  Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter
  Exploration of the Jovian moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Originally planned to be the first mission of Project Prometheus, it was deemed too complex and expensive, and its funding was cut in the 2006 budget. NASA instead considered a demonstration mission to a target closer to Earth to test out the reactor and heat rejection systems, possibly with a spacecraft scaled down from its original size.
caption: Prometheus I (Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter)
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