“Now there is a political certainty we haven’t had before,” she adds. “Last but not least, the private sector is not only interested in using space nuclear energy, they are even interested in providing space nuclear power.” Both Beginnings And established airspace companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin explore the use of nuclear power in space. “There are many puzzle pieces that have come together in a good way where we can actually move.”
NASA’s Artemis program is supposed to set up the bases for a constant base at the lunar South Pole and innovative technologies to move on to Mars, however its future is uncertain. Regardless, the energy needs of some naval missions in exotic environments such as the Moon, where nights last two weeks and temperatures are fluent in wildly, a constant and abundant power is needed.
“Lunar gravity and thermal swings are brutal,” Lal says. “Day temperatures are about 100 degrees Celsius. Night is close to absolute zero. All electronics must be radiant. Although, I will be honest, the greatest risks are not technical.
Enter China, which is also planning a lunar base at the South Pole. This area is rich in resources and water ice, which makes it an attractive place for research and possible constant presence, and China talks to Russia to partner about building a reactor there before 2035. These developments galvanized officials at NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy to enter 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 haven’t had one for 40 years,” says Mohamed El-Genk, professor of nuclear engineering and founding director of the Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies at the University of New Mexico. “But many things need to be elaborated to make it happen.”
How would all this work?
Duffy’s directive included few details about the design or scale of the planned reactor, and is anyone guessing what concepts could appear in the coming months.
“In order to further promote US competition and lunar surface leadership under the Artemis campaign, NASA is quickly moving to promote physical surface power,” said Bethany Stevens, NASA press secretary, headquarters, in email to Wired. “This critical technology will support lunar research, provide a high power generation of energy on Mars and strengthen our national security in space. Between efforts to promote development, NASA will appoint a new program executive to manage this work, as well as issuing a request for a proposal to industry within 60 days. NASA will publish more details on this proposal in the future.”
The directive echoes the findings of A recent report On space nuclear power, co-authored by Lal and Aerospace engineer Roger Myers, who included “go big or go home” to build a 100-kW reactor on the Moon by 2030.
This 100-kW design would be “roughly equivalent to sending some adult African elephants to the moon with a folding umbrella the size of a basketball court, in addition to the elephants producing heat and that an umbrella is not for shade, it is to empty heat into space,” Lal said in a next email to empty.
