Three companies will demonstrate their potential to power lunar infrastructure with nuclear fission systems.
Three design concept proposals were selected by NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy to support the Artemis program of lunar exploration.
NASA sees these contracts as useful for the exploration of Mars and other deeper space destinations.
"Developing these early designs will help us lay the groundwork for our long-term human presence on other worlds," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's space technology mission.
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The military wants to show new nuclear power systems in space.
The selected teams are led by several companies. Their goal in the next year is to give NASA critical information from industry that can lead to a joint development of a full flight- certified fission power system.
NASA did not give a timetable for a Phase 2 contract, if that is part of the plan.
Nuclear space initiatives, mostly on the military side, are being joined by the U.S. government in lunar exploration.
On May 17th, the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit announced two prototype contracts for nuclear power for spaceships.
The next stage of a project to design, develop and assemble a nuclear thermal rocket engine will be announced on May 4.
The U.S. military is trying to keep an eye on commercial and government activities in cislunar space, while NASA is thinking about crewed exploration.
NASA's fiscal 2023 budget request, not yet approved by Congress, includes fifteen million dollars to support nuclear propulsion. The agency is working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion system for use in Earth-moon space.
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