NASA wants to build a nuclear reactor on the moon as early as 2026 in order to supply moon and Mars missions with energy in the future.
Washington DC – The US space agency NASA has announced a next project in the course of the planning of its Artemis program for the recapture of the moon by humans. With nuclear power plants in small format, the energy supply for missions on the moon and beyond should be secured in the future.
On Friday (November 19th, 2021) the US authorities published a tender for a flight-qualified nuclear fission system for exploring the lunar surface. The Artemis program is a NASA initiative to work with other space agencies to send people back to the moon by 2024. In the course of this, the first woman and the first colored people should also step on the moon.
USA: How NASA wants to conquer space with the Artemis program
The ambitious goal of the project is to return to the moon with the new knowledge and newly developed technologies of the last few years and to create a constant human presence on the moon. All of this is intended to serve research and prepare us for the next jump, from moon to mars.
However, in order to be able to implement all of this, extensive basic research is required. In order to achieve this, a few factors must first be given. One of them is the energy supply. The aim is to create a system that sits on the lunar surface and provides the energy required to operate the rovers and carry out experiments. A secure energy supply is also essential for life support resources such as water for astronauts.
Nuclear reactor on the moon: really the best choice of energy supply?
If you ask experts, they believe that nuclear power is indispensable for exploring space. Although solar panels offer a very reliable energy supply, they are susceptible to the sometimes months-long dust storms on Mars. But the moon also presents obstacles to the use of solar panels in the form of nights lasting 14 days or geographical restrictions such as low solar radiation at the poles.
“A lot of energy will be the key to future space exploration,” said Jim Reuter, deputy administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in a press release. “I expect that surface systems for nuclear fission will greatly benefit our plans for energy infrastructure on the Moon and Mars and will even drive innovations for applications here on Earth.” At that time, according to the current state of research, Mars lost its magnetic field and gradually lost its The atmosphere. Another theory suggests that Mars was too small to hold water permanently.
NASA: Lunar nuclear power plant should be ready to go “within a decade”
The company, which delivers the best specification by the application deadline in February 2022, receives a contract worth five million US dollars. According to NASA, they want the lunar nuclear power plant to be ready to go “within a decade”.
The person in charge of nuclear technology at NASA, Anthony Calomino, said according to the television broadcaster CNBC: “Small nuclear reactors offer a lightweight, reliable and efficient solution”.
NASA on basic research: “We need several years in orbit”
The project is managed by NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. After the application period, competing design firms will develop their first ideas over a period of 12 months. The development of a long-term source of energy on the moon will enable NASA to maintain a long-term presence on the moon through the end of the decade. A big step towards the longer term goal of sending humans to Mars.
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“We need several years in orbit and on the lunar surface to ensure operational confidence to carry out long-term work and life support far from Earth, so that we can then set off on the first, multi-year, manned mission to Mars,” says the Artemis- Plan. “The earlier we leave for the moon, the sooner we American astronauts get to Mars.” (Lukas Zigo)
