A future where a permanent lunar base is powered by nuclear fuel is what NASA wants to see.
Humans will be sent back to the moon by the year 2025. NASA would like to use those as a launch pad.
The infrastructure for day-to- day life needs to be brought to the moon. Reliable source of energy for activities like drilling, heating, and charging rovers is included. NASA believes that nuclear power is the best option.
Todd Tofil is the Fission Surface Power project manager at NASA's Glenn Research Center.
Nuclear power can be brought to the moon by putting a reactor on a rocket.
NASA has been working on developing a rocket-sized reactor for the past 15 years and they have come up with a novel design.
The reactor is capable of generating up to 10 kilowatts of power for a decade. It's small, but it's enough to power several average households.
A small core of enriched uranium is encased in a heavy metal sheath.
This design uses a stirling engine, which converts the heat into energy, unlike most nuclear reactor on Earth. This design works better for the size.
The excess heat will be dissipated through the large radiator. There is a big circular disk above the engine.
Is it safe to blast nuclear fuel to the moon? Is it?
Nuclear fuel is not very radioactive before it is put into a reactor. Even if a rocket blew up in the Earth's atmosphere, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Each reactor only uses a small amount of fuel so it doesn't give off much radiation. The core is encased in metal to protect it from radiation.
If there is a problem with cooling, the reactor has systems that shut it down.
After the fuel runs out, the plan is to abandon the reactor. There is no need for a disposal plan since the waste can stay in the reactor.
If the natural usefulness of its life comes to an end, the radiation level would drop to low levels.
The final stages of the project have been entered by NASA. Last month the agency awarded contracts for industry partners to take the design from prototype to product after it was successfully tested on earth.
The reactor needs to be able to resist the pressures of space flight.
The plans for the reactor are larger than those of NASA. They could be sent to Mars if they work.
The information gathered on the moon could be used to develop concepts for deep space exploration powered by nuclear energy.
The goal is to encourage industry to design the lunar unit so that it can be used on Mars.
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