• NASA and the US Department of Energy (DOE) are working together to advance space nuclear technology.
• Battelle Energy Alliance, the contractor for managing and operating the Idaho National Laboratory, led.
• the nuclear reactor will generate the power needed to operate the rover, conduct experiments, and help support life.

NASA is one step closer to completing nuclear power some 238,900 miles away from Earth.

NASA and the US Department of Energy (DOE) are working together to advance space nuclear technology. The agencies have found three design concept proposals for a fission surface power system ready to launch by the end of the decade for demonstration on the Moon. 

Scientists hope that this technological concept will be profitable and useful for future exploration under the Artemis umbrella. The contract awarded through DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory is valued at approximately $5 million.

The contract funds the development of the initial design concept for a 40-kilowatt class fission power system that is planned to last at least 10 years in the lunar environment.

Battelle Energy Alliance, the contractor for managing and operating the Idaho National Laboratory, led the development, evaluation, and procurement of NASA-sponsored requests for proposals.

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory will award the following 12-month contracts to the following companies to each develop an initial design, namely:

• Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Maryland – The company will partner with BWXT and Creare.
• Westinghouse of Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania – The company will partner with Aerojet Rocketdyne.
• IX of Houston, Texas, a joint venture of Intuitive Machines and X-Energy – The company will partner with Maxar and Boeing.

Relatively small and light compared to other power systems, fission systems are reliable and can allow continuous power regardless of location, available sunlight and other natural environmental conditions. The demonstration of such a system on the Moon would pave the way for long-term missions on the Moon and Mars.

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“Abundant energy will be key to future space exploration,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in Washington. 

“I hope that surface fission power systems will greatly benefit our plans for power architecture for the Moon and Mars and even drive innovation for use on Earth.”

NASA revealed that the first phase of the program will provide NASA with important industry information that could lead to the joint development of a fully certified aviation fission power system.

“The Fission Surface Power project is a very achievable first step toward the United States building nuclear power on the Moon,” said John Wagner, director of the Idaho National Laboratory. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing what each of these teams will achieve.”

This fission surface power technology will also help NASA mature nuclear propulsion systems that rely on reactors to generate power and could potentially be used in space exploration missions.

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NASA’s surface fission power project is managed by the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Development of this power system was funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Technology Demonstration Mission program, located at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

“Developing this early design will help us lay the groundwork for strengthening our long-term human presence on the other world,” said Reuter.

From this step, it is hoped that the nuclear reactor will generate the power needed to operate the rover, conduct experiments, and help support life.

Reference:

[1] NASA Announces Artemis Concept Awards for Nuclear Power on Moon

[2] NASA wants to put nuclear reactor on the moon, hopes to support lunar life

Editor : Muhammad Fhandra Hardiyon