The US space agency and the US energy department are exploring three new design concepts for nuclear power on Earth’s only satellite. And at least one should be ready for launch before 2030.
These three projects have been awarded a contract worth 15 million dollars (about 14 million euros), 5 million each, for three preliminary designs of 40 kW nuclear fission reactors that will be tested on the lunar surface. by 2030.
Options
Power is necessary if NASA is to achieve its goal of having a permanent human presence on the Moon through the Artemis missions (and the future manned mission to Mars). Under this program, NASA aims to send a human mission to the Moon’s south pole by 2025 . However, unlike previous lunar missions, the objective of the Artemis program is not only to visit the Moon but to stay there and we cannot count on batteries and fuel cells. We need a reliable power source to support the astronauts, their outposts, and their machines and spacecraft.
Solar panels are great for powering rovers, but human settlements will require a continuous and reliable power source. Nuclear fision? It seems the most reasonable option because it is a small technology and also light to be sent to the Moon. Fission systems are reliable and could enable continuous power regardless of location, available sunlight and other natural environmental conditions, NASA said in a statement.
“New technology drives our exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond ,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “The development of these early designs will help us lay the groundwork for our long-term human presence on other worlds.”
The plan is for the fission power system to last at least 10 years in the lunar environment, with the hope that it could one day support a permanent human presence on the moon, as well as support manned missions to Mars and beyond.
One of the obstacles being worked with is that the installation of a lunar base would have to withstand 14 days of sunlight, where the temperature outside the shade reaches 120 °C , and 14 days of night, where it drops to -130 ° C. c. Hence the energy density must be extremely high.
It would be especially helpful if these future small reactors could run on nuclear fuels other than plutonium because of the severe bottlenecks in producing it for space missions.
the three projects
The three selected design concepts have been submitted by: Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin , which will build a portable nuclear reactor using BWXT; Westinghouse, based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, which has partnered with Aerojet Rocktdyne, and IX , a joint venture between Intuitive Machines and X-Energy, based in Houston, Texas, associated with Maxar and Boeing. Details of the individual design concept proposals have yet to be revealed to the public.
The contracts were awarded through the Idaho National Laboratory. “The Fission Surface Power project is a very feasible first step for the United States to establish nuclear power on the Moon. I look forward to seeing what each of these teams will achieve,” said John Wagner, director of the laboratory.
If all goes according to plan, one of these systems will be ready to be launched by the end of the decade and sent to the Moon for demonstration purposes.
Target: the Moon
The Artemis I mission will pave the way for manned flights: Artemis II, which will launch in May 2024 and fly close to the moon without landing on it, and Artemis III , which will land on the lunar surface. Artemis III, due to launch ‘no earlier than 2025’, will be the first to land humans on the Moon in more than 50 years, since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Reference: NASA
