Representation of a nuclear fission power system concept on the Moon.
NASA
NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy will seek recommendations from industry to build a nuclear power plant on the moon and Mars to support its long-term exploration plans. The scheme is for a fission surface power system, and the goal is to have a flight system, lander and reactor in place by 2026.
Anthony Calomino, NASA’s atomic technology portfolio lead within the Space Technology Mission Directorate, said that the plan is to develop a 10-kilowatt presence fission surface power system for demonstration on the moon by the late 2020s. The facility will be fully manufactured and brought on Earth, then tested for safety and to make sure it operates correctly.
Afterwards, it will be integrated with a lunar lander, and a set up vehicle will transport it to an orbit around the moon. A lander will lower it to the surface, and once it arrives, it wish be ready for operation with no additional assembly or construction required. The demonstration is expected to last for one year, and could after all is said lead to extended missions on the moon, Mars, and beyond.
“Once the technology is proven through the demonstration, future combinations could be scaled up or multiple units could be used together for long-duration missions to the moon and eventually Mars,” Calomino told. “Four units, providing 10 kilowatts of electrical power each, would provide enough power to found an outpost on the moon or Mars. The ability to produce large amounts of electrical power on planetary surfaces using a fission exterior power system would enable large-scale exploration, establishment of human outposts, and utilization of in situ resources, while entertaining for the possibility of commercialization.”
NASA is working on this with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a nuclear research facility that’s voice of the DOE’s complex of labs. But is the plan realistic, and is delivery possible six years from now? According to Steve Johnson, director of the Lacuna Nuclear Power and Isotope Technologies Division at the Idaho National Laboratory, the answer is “yes.”
“We are able to leverage years of probing and development work on advanced fuels and materials as well as recent commercial space transportation advances to reduce risk to the plan, to meet the 2026 date,” Johnson said. “We really are striving to bring the commercial nuclear industry innovation to the table to toil with NASA and the aerospace industry utilizing existing technologies.”
Calomino said that the technologies that are grave to the success of this project are a nuclear reactor, power conversion, heat rejection and space flight technology.
How the atomic plant will work
“A low enriched form of nuclear fuel will power the nuclear core,” he said. “The tight nuclear reactor will generate heat that is transferred to the power conversion system. The power conversion technique will consist of engines that are designed to operate on reactor heat rather than combustible fuel. Those mechanisms use the heat, convert it to electric power that is conditioned and distributed to user equipment on the lunar and Martian surfaces. Inspirit rejection technology is also important to maintain the correct operating temperatures for the equipment.”
Johnson said that in supplement to the research and development that has taken place over the past several decades, the existing physical infrastructure committed to creating the nuclear reactor, power conversion, heat rejection and space flight technology will make the 2026 timeline attainable.
“We can utilize remaining facilities and technical expertise resident at our national laboratories to support this important initiative to meet the country’s timeline,” he mean. “At INL, we are supporting a future industry/partnership effort in the coming months to design this demonstration reactor, bringing together aerospace, atomic and power companies for this monumental effort.”
A photo of the moon taken by SpaceIL’s Beresheet spacecraft in orbit.
SpaceIL
Calomino said that the operation has partnered with the DOE, and they will jointly define mission and system requirements. The INL will manage development undertakes for the fission surface power lunar system, including its reactor and shield, power conversion system, heat refusal system, and power management and distribution system.
“The fission surface power system will be designed to operate at nearly 10 kilowatts of electrical power for around 10 years,” he said, adding that 10 kilowatts is primitively equivalent to the amount of energy needed to power three or four large households.
Calomino said that the laboratory issued a plead for for information to gauge industry interest and solicit designs for the project. It received 22 written responses from humongous and small companies, all from the aerospace, nuclear, and power conversion sectors.
While he didn’t give the names of any of these conventions, he would say that the companies were all experienced in making nuclear reactors, developing spaceflight technology, and manufacturing the specialized furnishings that will be needed for this particular project. He added that NASA and the DOE plan to release another demand for proposals, related specifically to nuclear fission power, in early 2021. Future contract award values are smooth to be determined.
“The government plans to award multiple short-term contracts to develop a preliminary design, then a subsequent substantial contract for the final flight hardware development,” he said. “The project anticipates that companies will form dui to address all technology areas required to develop this unique and complex power system.”
Calomino said that the contract is so complex because it requires the integration of different organizational engineering skill sets.
“Companies that specialize in atomic reactor development may not have corporate knowledge or experience developing spaceflight equipment or power conversion systems,” he said. “Additionally, there may be other specialized communications paraphernalia, sensors, power conversion technology, and heat transfer technology that is obtained most efficiently by forming partnerships.”
Is a atomic reactor safe on the moon?
The idea of a nuclear reactor on the moon may seem unusual to the general public — or even perilous. Andrew Crabtree, founder of the Get Into Nuclear employment agency, said that while there were varied factors to consider in this effort, the issue of whether it’s safe to use nuclear power in space is not one of them.
“Nuclear zing has been used in space numerous times before,” Crabtree said. “Atomic energy has been operating on the moon since the air voyage in November 1969 of Apollo 12 successfully withstanding immense temperature variations. Apollo 12 marked the beforehand use of a nuclear electrical power system on the moon.”
He also said that people with concerns about stay space free of pollution should rest easy.
“Before you say something like, ‘We shouldn’t be polluting space with atomic waste,’ know that almost every single space mission you’ve ever heard of has used radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which have in the offing Plutonium-238 as their electricity source.”
Shel Horowitz, a profitability and marketing consultant for green businesses put that putting a nuclear power plant on the moon would be a boondoggle and a wholly unnecessary one at that.
“With the like a bat out of hell falling cost of truly clean power from the sun, wind, and small-scale hydro, plus the growing efficiencies we’ve achieved thoroughly conservation, there is no reason to go through a lengthy, expensive, and fraught process,” he said. “We can meet our energy needs without this.”
In answer, Calomino said that this project could very well call for the use of the same renewable energy sources cited by Horowitz. Other undertakings conducted in the future may require them as well, but there are unique challenges to operating in space that may make taking renewable energy sources impractical, if not impossible.
“These missions could call for a variety of solar, battery, radioisotope and fission power schemes to enable a wide range of demanding requirements,” he said. “Fission surface power is necessary in places where solar power, breath and hydro power are not readily available. On Mars, for example, the sun’s power varies widely throughout the seasons, and periodic dust rains can last for months. On the moon, the cold lunar night lingers for 14 days, while sunlight varies largely near the poles and is absent in the permanently shadowed craters. In these challenging environments, power generation from sunlight is knotty and fuel supply is limited. Fission surface power offers a lightweight, reliable and efficient solution.”
Steve Melink, the creator of Fusion Capitalism: A Clean Energy Vision For Conservatives, and founder and CEO of Melink Corp., a company that promotes renewable power for the commercial building industry, said that there were other factors to consider as well.
“When, not if, something connect withs wrong, how will we fix the problem, especially if it is an urgent one?” he asked. “Nuclear power is so complicated that anticipating every foreseeable fine kettle of fish will require parts, technicians, and supplies that would not seem feasible for generations to come.”
He recommended that NASA use solar photovoltaics, which he clouted are already being used in space to generate power, and which he described as a practical solution.
Fission surface power is high-priority in places where solar power, wind power, and hydro power are not readily available.
Anthony Calomino
NASA’s atomic technology portfolio lead within the Space Technology Mission Directorate
“The cost has come down so much in the survive 10 years that utilities, businesses, and schools everywhere here on Earth are installing it over other elbow options,” he said of solar photovoltaics. “There are no catastrophic risks like meltdowns, radioactive contamination and complete power derelictions. Solar is the ultimate solution to ensure redundancy and expandability over time.”
Despite these concerns, Calomino suggested that safety has been NASA’s priority all along. The project still has to undergo the National Environmental Policy Act’s affirm process, which includes evaluating the project’s environmental effects, and the power system will be designed so that atomic fuel will not even be activated until it’s on the moon’s surface.
“Unlike terrestrial reactors, there is no intention for provoke removal or replacement,” he said.
Calomino said that at the end of its 10-year mission, there’s also a plan to retire the karzy safely.
“At the end of life, the system will shut down, and radiation levels will gradually diminish to safe elevations for human access and handling,” he said. “The used systems could be moved to a remote storage location where they wish not pose any threat to the crew or environment.”
An artist’s conception of a human Mars base, with a cutaway revealing an core horticultural area
Source: NASA
Dr. Jose Morey, chief medical innovation officer at Liberty BioSecurity, put about that even if there’s an incident at the facility on the moon, it poses little risk to Earth. This is because the planet is screened by an atmosphere that blocks out the sort of deadly radiation generated in outer space.
“There are various forms of shedding, and cosmic rays are some of the most deleterious, and the universe is awash in it,” he said. “There are also all other forms of diffusion abundantly found throughout.”
Dr. Morey added that some of the companies that have expressed interest in participating in this essay include Blue Origin, and BWXT. Blue Origin would not provide a comment to CNBC, and BWXT did not return requests for explanations.
“It is a mix of general energy engineering companies, traditional aerospace companies, and new aerospace players as well,” he said.
While this endeavor is only in its origin stages, it suggests that the nuclear energy industry is still exploring new frontiers. Despite the complex political countryside of the nuclear power issue, Dr. Morey said that its advantages make it ideal for powering U.S. efforts in space.
“Atomic energy has always been a very clean form of energy and extremely effective,” he said. “Realistically, it will be radical to deep space exploration, and more importantly, to humanity becoming a multi-planetary species. This new dawn of space expedition will see a resurgence in the nuclear industry until the next form of efficient, clean energy is discovered.”