NASA finishes 1st phase of ambitious lunar nuclear reactor project

The space agency in 2022 also awarded three $5 million contracts to private companies, tasking them with developing an initial design that included the reactor, its power conversion, heat rejection, power management and distribution systems, estimated costs and a development schedule. This nuclear reactor could play an important role in bolstering NASA’s ambitions to have a sustained human presence on the Moon for at least 10 years.

“A demonstration of a nuclear power source on the Moon is required to show that it is a safe, clean, reliable option. The lunar night is challenging from a technical perspective, so having a source of power such as this nuclear reactor, which operates independent of the Sun, is an enabling option for long-term exploration and science efforts on the Moon,” said Trudy Kortes, program director, Technology Demonstration Missions within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a press statement.

Solar power has its limitations on the Moon because night on Earth’s lone satellite lasts for the equivalent of 14 days here on Earth. But a nuclear reactor, even one placed in permanently shadowed areas where there might be water ice, could generate power continuously without any dependence on weather and other conditions.