Why the US Is Racing to Build a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
“There is now a political certainty that we did not have before,” she adds. “Finally and above all, the private sector is not only interested in the use of space nuclear energy, but they are even interested in providing spatial nuclear energy.” Startups and aerospace companies established like Boeing and Lockheed Martin seek the use of nuclear energy in space. “There are a lot of puzzle pieces that have gathered in the right direction, where we can really move.”
The NASA Artemis program is supposed to lay the foundations for a permanent base in Pole South Lunar and Pioneer technologies to go to Mars, although its future is uncertain. Be that as it may, the energy needs of all crew missions in exotic environments like the Moon, where nights last two weeks and temperatures fluctuate wildly, require stable and abundant power.
“Lunar gravity and thermal oscillations are brutal,” explains LAL. “Diurnal temperatures are around 100 degrees Celsius. The night is close to the absence of zero. All electronics must be hardened by radiation. Although I am honest, the biggest risks are not technical. The greatest risk is to maintain this momentum and the mission objective. ”
Enter China, which also provides a moon base at the South Pole. This region is rich in resources and water ice, making it an attractive exploration site and a potential permanent presence, and China is in talks with Russia to associate with the construction of a reactor by 2035. These developments have galvanized NASA officials, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Energy to participate in the race.
“It could be done, because we are doing very well here in the United States when we have a strong opponent, and we have not had them for 40 years,” explains Mohamed El-Genk, professor of nuclear engineering and founding director of the Institute for Space and Nuclear Studies at the University of New Mexico. “But many things have to be developed to happen.”
How would it all work?
The Duffy directive included some details on the design or scale of the planned reactor, and it is to assume that the concepts could emerge in the coming months.
“To advance American competition further and the leadership of a lunar surface as part of the Artemis campaign, NASA moves quickly to advance the development of the surface power of the fission,” said Bethany Stevens, press secretary at the NASA headquarters, in an email in Wired. “This critical technology will support lunar exploration, will provide high power production on Mars and will strengthen our national security in space. Among the efforts to advance development, NASA will designate a new program manager to manage this work, as well as to request a request for a proposal within 60 days. NASA will publish additional details on this proposal in the future. ”
The directive echoes the conclusions of a recent report on spatial nuclear power supply, co-authorized by LAL and the aerospace engineer Roger Myers, which included a “Go Big or Roper Home” option to build a 100 kW reactor on the moon by 2030.
This 100 kW design would be “almost equivalent to sending a few adult African elephants to the moon with an umbrella unfolding the size of a basketball court, except that elephants produce heat and that this umbrella is not for the shadow, it is to pour heat into space,” said LAL in a monitoring email.
