After the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) partnered with the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) earlier this week to develop a nuclear rocket engine, British aerospace firm Rolls-Royce also jumped into the fray.

Rolls Royce is one of the world's leading aeronautics and engine firms, with its products found in both military and civilian aircraft - alongside submarines and other machines.

The company also has a space segment, and it shared a rather tantalizing teaser on its social media yesterday showing a micro nuclear reactor.

Nuclear propulsion these days, particularly for civilian and peaceful uses, is aiming to use High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) and it appears that Rolls-Royce's engine will also utilize this fuel.

The central message of the NASA and DARPA announcement was that the agencies have settled down on a safe fuel for using nuclear rocket engines.

The brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine has played a decisive role in these developments, as the U.K. has been one of the hardest-hit countries due to the painful inflation resulting from Europe's energy imbalance.