Bright plans. NASA wants to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon.

Nuclear Energy? Yes please! This is the new logo for NASA. It wants to start operating a nuclear power plant on the Moon before the end of this decade.

NASA wants to provide its astronauts with nuclear power on the Moon. Three American companies – Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse and IX – were commissioned to design a nuclear power plant for the Moon. They each get $5 million in tax money for it.

The lunar nuclear power plant should produce 40 kW, which even the smallest wind turbines can achieve today, and of course it cannot be compared with nuclear power plants on Earth. However, the mini nuclear power plant should provide electricity for NASA’s planned lunar missions.

Nuclear energy is already scattered in space

The nuclear power plant is being developed as part of NASA’s Artemis program, which currently plans to see people walk on the moon again in 2025. The planned reactor should land on the moon by the end of this decade and then remain in operation for at least ten years.

The use of nuclear energy in space is nothing new. Satellites and rovers are often equipped with radionuclide batteries, such as the Curiosity rover currently orbiting the planet Mars. With a power of 110 watts, its nuclear battery provides just under four hundred of the energy of the planned lunar nuclear power plant.