NASA has asked companies to design plans for reactors that could be set up on the moon that is hinting at a permanent lunar base that is powered by nuclear fuel.
As of now, NASA aims to send humans back to the moon by 2025 to lay the groundwork for human settlements on the moon, they then want to use it as a launchpad to Mars.
To colonize the moon means bringing the infrastructure for day-to-day life, which includes a reliable source of energy for activities like drilling, heating, refrigeration, charging rovers, and more. Nuclear power is the best option, NASA said.
“This could be also a stepping stone to develop the technology and the experience that we could then take to Mars,” said Todd Tofil, the Fission Surface Power project manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.
This system is made up of three basic elements, the core, the engine, and the radiator.
The biggest challenge to bringing nuclear power to the moon is cramming a reactor onto a rocket, Tofil said.
NASA has been working on developing a rocket-sized reactor for the past 15 years. In 2018, it tested a preliminary concept for a reactor called the Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTy).
The reactor is much smaller than the nuclear power plants on Earth.
About NASA’s Glenn Research Center
The NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio designs and develops innovative technology to advance NASA’s missions in aeronautics and space exploration.
Source: Agencies NASA Nuclear Power Plant Moon NASA Nuclear Power Plant Moon
