The US Targets to Build Nuclear Power Plants in the Moon and Mars

The US Targets to Build Nuclear Power Plants in the Moon and Mars

The US Targets to Build Nuclear Power Plants in the Moon and Mars. Photo Courtesy – PBS

The US targets its concept towards building nuclear power plants on the moon and mars. They have named it ‘fission surface power system’ that will support humans to live a long time in the space environment.

The department of energy in the US requested the private sector about the procedure for building nuclear reactors. The Energy Department of the US, the Idaho National Laboratory, and NASA will estimate the concept of how to develop reactors on the moon and mars. Idaho National Laboratory is a nuclear research facility in eastern Idaho, situated in the Pacific Northwest region of the US.

It has taken the lead in the US regarding advanced reactors, microreactors, and reactors that run cooling without water. Most of the reactors that are found in the world are water cooling reactors, but the Idaho National Laboratory has created a speciality in this field of nuclear power.

The proposed plan for the US Energy Department consists of two phases. The first stage is to develop a reactor design and the second is to develop a test reactor and to build a flight system and lander by which the second reactor can be transported to the moon. They want the project ready by the end of 2026.

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The US Energy Department wants the capacity of the reactor to generate uninterrupted electricity output at a minimum of 10 kilowatts. The nuclear reactor should not be heavier than 3500 kg. The nuclear power plants will be operated automatically and their durability should be a minimum of 10 years.

The Energy Department of the US declared that the reactor will be utilized to support exploration in the south polar area of the moon. Though any specific region on the surface of the mars where the exploration will be operated has not been decided yet.

The director of Nuclear Power Safety, Edwin Lyman told that he is worried about the design and timeline of the nuclear reactors that use improved quality of uranium that can be made into weapons. Using the improved quality of uranium is being reduced by the US due to this reason.

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