The US Department of Energy says it is continuing to work with NASA, other federal agencies and commercial entities to develop and design nuclear power systems for both near-term and future space missions.

In a document outlining its strategy to advance US leadership in space exploration, the DOE said it will develop space-capable energy technologies, both nuclear and non-nuclear, for US space customers.

The publication of the DOE document follows a national strategy, released last month, that defined key goals such as nuclear fuels, fission reactors for surface power, thermal propulsion technology, and radioisotope power systems for space exploration.