Beyond the solar energy captured through panels, space agencies around the world are betting on nuclear reactors as the basis of their lunar and Martian colonization strategies for the coming decades. Due to this, some companies are developing different types of proposals. focusing on such important aspects as modularity and portability to be able to launch from rockets towards the cosmos.
Rolls-Royce, which in addition to luxury cars and airplane engines also has its nuclear branch, has just presented the Space Micro-Reactor Concept Model at the United Kingdom Space Conference. It is part of a program promoted by the island country’s own Space Agency to “carry out a initial demonstration of a modular lunar nuclear reactor”, as published in a note.
The project was signed last March for a value of 3.38 million euros, at which time the company’s engineers began working on the design of the reactor. The space event was chosen to present for the first time a non-functional model of the system that, if everything goes well, in the future it will travel aboard a spacecraft to settle on the Moon and provide electrical energy to the astronauts.
Energy on the Moon
The development of the Micro-Reactor program “will provide the energy necessary for humans to live and work on the Moon”, as reported by Rolls-Royce in a statement in March, when the budget item for the project was approved. They also indicate that all space missions depend on a power source to support communications systems, life support and scientific experiments. And nuclear power “has the potential to dramatically increase the duration of future lunar missions and their scientific value.”
Being a source independent of climatic conditions, nuclear has positioned itself as one of the best solutions in the always demanding space scenario. The development of this type of small size and weight nuclear reactors, when compared to other generation systems, “could allow continuous power regardless of location, available sunlight and other environmental conditions.” This last factor could be key, for example, in the large dust storms that exist on planets like Mars.
Representation of the nuclear reactor on the Moon Rolls-Royce
The company is working together with some academic collaborators such as the University of Oxford, Bangor University, Brighton University and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Center at the University of Sheffield. Scientific investigations will focus on the fuel used to generate heat, the method of heat transfer – known as an exchanger – and the technology needed to convert that heat into electricity. One of Rolls-Royce’s business lines is manufacturing steam turbines for nuclear propellants.
The potential applications of Rolls-Royce microreactor technology “are broad and could support commercial and defense use cases, in addition to those in space.” As they explain, the space propulsion could be another of the key pillars for this technology. “Continuous power and efficient propulsion can also provide satellites with more flexible movement to protect and defend key orbits.”
Nuclear energy on the Moon
This last note is key in a week in which the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom – known as the AUKUS coalition – have signed an agreement by which they participate and promote DRAC. This system is a satellite monitoring shield capable of detecting in advance when one of the coalition orbiters is in danger of collision. The combination of DRAC together with satellites powered by nuclear reactors could be another pillar within the various space protection programs.
“Space exploration is the ultimate laboratory for many of the transformative technologies we need on Earth: from materials to robotics, nutrition, clean technologies and much more“said George Freeman, Minister of State for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology of the United Kingdom, last March. “As we prepare to see humans return to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, we support interesting research like this modular lunar reactor.
NASA proposal
The United States Space Administration also has some programs and initiatives that promote the development of nuclear technology for use in space environments. In June 2022 and together with the Department of Energy, NASA announced that it will provide 15 million dollars (about 12 million euros) to 3 conceptual designs of 40 kW nuclear fission reactors in order to test them on the lunar surface in 2030.
The program, called Fission Surface Power, aims to generate electricity for supply of the facilities and infrastructure that will be available on the Moon. In addition, it must resist the extreme conditions of the environment, both periods of perpetual sun exposure at 120 degrees Celsius and the most absolute shade with temperatures below 100 below zero.
Conceptual illustration of a fission energy system on the Moon. NASA NASA
NASA’s idea is to use this type of energy in small reactors that are not complicated to integrate into rockets, at the same time light enough not to sacrifice autonomy in each of the launches. Likewise, the source is expected to have the densest fuel possible, for the same reasons, and to provide great stability.
The concessionaires of the first phase of the contract were Lockheed Martin, IX y Westinghouse; with their respective collaborators and partners. “The Fission Surface Prower project is a very feasible first step for the United States to establish nuclear power on the Moon,” said John Wagner, director of the Idaho National Laboratory. “I look forward to seeing what each of these teams will accomplish.”
This first phase of the program will provide NASA with “critical industry information that can lead to the joint development of a fission energy system fully certified for flight“, they said from the Agency in a note. These developed technologies will also help “mature nuclear propulsion systems that depend on reactors to generate energy”; such as systems that can be used in deep space exploration missions.
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2023-12-15 01:54:34
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