US researchers have come up with a new design for a nuclear power plant. The goal? Send a test reactor to the moon in a few years. However, its design and installation represent a real challenge. Moreover, it is a technology whose ultimate objective would be to contribute to the colonization of Mars.
When we talk about a lunar colony or a martian colony, we are inevitably talking about the establishment of a base. However, this base must be obligatorily supplied with energy . But what resource should we use? You should know that shuttles regularly carry solar panels, a renewable source already very present on the surface of the Earth. However, installing thousands of panels – especially on Mars – would be too complicated. Indeed, sandstorms and other craters can plunge the installations into darkness. In addition, the batteries are not eternal and their replacement is problematic.
At the Idaho National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy (DoE), researchers are working on a new type of nuclear power plant . As Design and Development Today explains in an article of July 27, 2020, there is talk of testing a first reactor on the Moon!
You should know that since the mid-2000s, NASA has been working on the design of a lunar reactor capable of delivering 10 kW. After many twists and turns, the engineers finally managed to operate a 5 kW reactor. At the end of July 2020, the Department of Energy launched a tender, sparking renewed interest in the initial NASA project.
In its appeal, the DoE indicates that it wants to acquire a surface system using atomic fission capable of allowing humans to live for long periods in the space . The first phase of the program consists in developing a proof of concept of the reactor. The second will aim to send a test reactor to the Moon in 2026 . In addition, this implies studying in parallel a means of transporting the reactor to our satellite. Finally, in the event that this technology really proves its worth, the United States will seriously consider an application on the red planet.
If all goes as planned, the famous reactor will be tested shortly after the great return of humans to the Moon. This return will take place as part of the Artemis mission in 2024. However, remember that it will first be a question of a mini-station in lunar orbit . Future missions will be conducted in order to establish an actual base on the Moon, but NASA seems not to have decided on the establishment area yet.
