NASA’s announcement that it will accelerate the Fission Surface Power program, targeting deployment of a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030, represents an ambitious acceleration of extraterrestrial energy strategy.
NASA’s announcement that it will accelerate the Fission Surface Power program, targeting deployment of a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030, represents an ambitious acceleration of extraterrestrial energy strategy. From 2021-24, Katy Huff, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, held multiple positions in the U.S. Department of Energy, including that of assistant secretary for nuclear energy. Huff shares her perspective on the technical, logistical and policy challenges NASA’s effort entails, as well as the benefits of nuclear fission as power source for space infrastructure, with News Bureau writer Maeve Reilly.
Is a Reactor on the Moon a Good Idea?
Nuclear energy is uniquely suited for supporting sustained lunar and Martian missions. Because of nuclear energy’s high power density and 24/7 resilient operations, NASA has selected nuclear fission power as the primary surface power generation technology for future lunar bases and crewed missions to Mars. Indeed, to deploy a fission reactor on the lunar surface in support of scientific discovery is a noble task. However, completing this task by 2030 would be a monumental undertaking.
Read More: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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