Thefirst nuclear power plant to produce electricity on the Moon, Mars and other planetsIt is doneready. The device employs an innovativedifferent fission technologythan used by land-based nuclear power plants. The reactor will have thesize of a suitcaseand it will not require cooling towers, as explained by James E. Werner of the US Department of Energy during the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS for its acronym in English). NASA has also participated in its development.
Until now, solar energy and fuel cells were considered the main pillars for generating electricity during space missions. But the effective use of solar energy in space is largely limited to near-Earth orbits and satellite equipment, while lNuclear power could be used for manned space travel to other planets or the Moon, as well as anywhere else in the solar system. “A fission system on the Moon could produce40 kilowattsThat is, approximately the amount of energy needed to supply eight homes on Earth, even working inside craters, canyons or caves, “explains Wener.” The technology is mature, affordable and safe, “he adds.
Nuclear fission systems are based on thedivision of nuclei of uranium atoms into two lighter nuclei. The energy released in the process is converted into electricity.
