Over the next fifteen years, several space agencies and their commercial partners plan to undertake manned missions to the moon and Mars. In addition to placing “footprints and flags” on these celestial bodies, it is planned to create the infrastructure to enable a long-term human presence. In order to meet these mission requirements and to ensure the safety of the astronauts, various technologies are currently being researched and developed.
Essentially, these technologies are about self-sufficiency with resources, materials and energy. To ensure these missions have the power they need to operate, NASA is developing a Fission Surface Power (FSP) system that will provide a safe, efficient, and reliable power supply. In conjunction with solar cells, batteries and fuel cells, this technology will enable long-term missions to the moon and Mars in the near future.
For NASA, owning nuclear fission reactors for operations on the lunar surface is an integral part of the Artemis program, which aims to create a “sustainable lunar exploration” program. This means that infrastructure such as the Lunar Gateway (where spaceships will dock and feed) and Artemis Base Camp are required on the surface, where astronauts eat, exercise and sleep when they are not performing extravehicular activities (EVA) – i.e. surface operations .
Artist’s impression of the Kilopower nuclear fission reactor on the moon. Photo credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
That base will require a significant amount of electricity to allow astronauts to charge rovers, conduct experiments, and produce water, fuel, building materials, and oxygen gas using the moon’s natural resources – a process known as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). Jim Reuter is Assistant Administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), which funds the surface energy splitting project.
“A lot of energy will be the key to future space exploration,” he said in a NASA press release. “I expect that surface energy systems for fission will greatly benefit our plans for energy architectures for the Moon and Mars, and even drive innovations for applications here on earth.” To create a gap system that could continuously deliver up to 10 kilowatts (kW) of power for at least ten years.
The project ended in March 2018 with the successful completion of the demonstrator Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Tech (KRUSTY). This prototype consisted of a massive reactor core made of cast uranium-235 (about the size of a paper towel roll) and passive sodium heat pipes that transfer the heat generated by slow fission reactions to highly efficient Stirling engines, which convert the heat into electricity.
Based on that success, NASA has since worked with the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) – through the Battelle Energy Alliance-operated Idaho National Laboratory (INL) – to develop the kilopower-inspired FSP for the Artemis program. This will culminate in a technology demonstration tentatively slated for the early 2030s that will send a prototype reactor to the moon to test its capabilities in lunar conditions.
Artistic concept of a fissure surface energy system on Mars. Photo credit: NASA
Todd Tofil, the FSP project manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, stated:
“NASA and DOE are working together on this important and challenging development that, when completed, will be an incredible step towards long-term human exploration of the Moon and Mars. We will leverage the unique capabilities of the government and the private sector to provide reliable, continuous power that is independent of the moon’s location. ”
On November 19, NASA and the DoE called on American companies to develop design concepts for a nuclear power system that could be ready for a demonstration on the moon within a decade. As stated in the tender documents, the FSP should consist of “a uranium powered reactor core, a power conversion system (PCS), a thermal management system and a power management and distribution system (PMAD) with the ability to end up with no less than 40 kilowatts of continuous electrical power at the user interface of the life cycle. “
In conjunction with conventional methods, compact and lightweight nuclear fission reactors are ideal for providing electricity for exploring the moon. First of all, nuclear fission systems are reliable and can operate continuously in the permanently shaded craters in the Moon’s South Pole Aitken Basin. During the lunar nights (which last 14 earth days) solar energy is largely unavailable, which makes reactors very desirable.
The system NASA envisions will deliver at least 40 kilowatts (kW) of power, enough to supply 30 houses here on earth with uninterrupted power for ten years. Thanks to the mature technology, nuclear power plants can also be scaled into compact and lightweight systems. This is key to meeting NASA’s Artemis mission requirement for power systems that can be operated autonomously from the deck of a lunar lander or lunar surface rover.
An artist’s conception shows a Mars transit habitat with a nuclear propulsion system. Photo credit: NASA
Configured in this way, a system like the FSB could provide enough power to maintain a lunar base and (for decades to come) an outpost on Mars. On Mars, seasonal fluctuations lead to dust storms that can sometimes become large enough to cover the entire planet and last for months. Solar energy is unreliable in times like these, and wind power, batteries and fuel cells can only catch up to a limited extent.
Another bonus of this research is how it will help develop nuclear propulsion systems that rely on reactors to generate electricity. These include nuclear thermal and nuclear electric propulsion technologies (NTP / NEP), which could shorten the travel time to Mars to just 100 days. Here, too, NASA has been researching the technology for decades with very encouraging results (e.g. NERVA reactor).
Over the next twelve months, NASA and the DOE will select competing US companies to develop initial designs. These will contribute to an industry tender for the final design and construction of flight-qualified nuclear power systems next year. The finalists in this phase will have their finished designs compete for a demonstration mission to the moon. If all goes well, surface operations on the Moon and Mars won’t have to worry about the lights going out.
Further reading: NASA
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