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NASA and the US Department of Energy are expecting proposals from the industry to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon and Mars. The device will be fully manufactured and assembled on Earth, then its safety and proper functioning will be tested. It will then be integrated into the landing module, which will transport the launch vehicle into orbit around the moon.
The landing module will land on the surface and the power system will be ready for operation without the need for further assembly or construction. The demonstration is expected to last a year. If the demonstration is successful, future systems could be expanded or more units could be used together for long-term missions to the moon and later to Mars. “Four units, each providing 10 kilowatts of electricity, would provide enough power to establish a base on the Moon or Mars.”ovedal Calomino.
The goal is to have a flight system, a landing module and a reactor ready by 2026. And how will it work? The nuclear power plant will use a low-enriched form of nuclear fuel. A small nuclear reactor will generate heat, which will be transferred to the energy conversion system. It will consist of motors that use heat and convert it into modified electricity and distributed to user equipment on the surface of the Moon or Mars.
Heat dissipation technology is also important for maintaining the correct operating temperatures of the device. The reactor will be designed to produce around 10 kilowatts of electricity for around 10 years (10 kilowatts is roughly the amount of energy needed to power five to eight large households).
Industry interest is currently being evaluated and project proposals are being collected. So far 22 written responses have been received from large and small companies, all from the aerospace, nuclear and energy sectors. Their names have not been published, but they all have experience in manufacturing nuclear reactors, developing space technologies, and manufacturing specialized equipment that will be needed for this particular project.
There is even a plan to shut down the facility safely after its 10-year mission. At the end of its life, the system shuts down and the radiation is gradually reduced to a safe level for people to access and manipulate. The systems used could then be moved to a remote repository, where they would pose no threat to the crew or the environment.
Source: cnbc.com.
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