Rolls-Royce is developing a nuclear micro-reactor for a moon outpost. The reactor is expected to be 120 inches long and 3.3 feet wide. Rolls-Royce plans to send the reactor to the moon in the early 2030s
The British company is working with the UK Space Agency on the project. The UK Space Agency has provided Rolls-Royce with 2.9 million pounds to build the reactor.
The micro-reactor will be a long-term energy source for human bases on the moon. It will be able to provide continuous power regardless of location, sunlight, and other environmental conditions. The reactor is also expected to be safe, reliable, and emission free.
Microreactors are 100 to 1,000 times smaller than conventional nuclear reactors. They are also less expensive to build
Rolls-Royce plans to have a demonstration model of a modular micro-reactor ready for delivery to the moon by 2029. The UK Space Agency awarded Rolls-Royce a £2.9-million (US$3.5-million) contract to develop the reactor
The micro-reactor could provide continuous power for a lunar base, regardless of location, sunlight, and other environmental conditions. It could also be useful for nuclear-powered propulsion.
Rolls-Royce is working with a number of collaborators, including:
- University of Oxford
- University of Bangor
- University of Brighton
- University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC)
- Nuclear AMRC
The UK Space Agency says that all space missions depend on a power source to support systems for communications, life-support, and science experiments.
Rolls-Royce says that the micro-reactor will provide clean, safe, and reliable energy. The company is investigating ways to convert the heat generated by the reactor into electricity. In conventional nuclear reactors, this heat boils water, which turns into steam that turns a turbine.
Rolls-Royce says that the micro-reactor technology could also:
- Support commercial and defense use cases
- Decarbonize industry
- Power NASA’s planned moon base
Rolls-Royce’s nuclear reactor uses uranium as fuel. The uranium is processed into ceramic pellets and stacked into metal tubes called fuel rods. Usually, more than 200 rods are bundled together to form a fuel assembly
Rolls-Royce has several types of reactors:
- Micro-reactor: Uses uranium as fuel
- Small modular reactor (SMR): Uses uranium dioxide (UO2) as fuel
- PWR: Uses highly enriched uranium (HEU) enriched to between 93% and 97%
Rolls-Royce has contracted Westinghouse to develop a fuel design for its SMR. They have also partnered with the UK’s National Physical Laboratory to investigate safe automated reactor operation for SMRs
Westinghouse Electric Company UK Ltd. is the leading nuclear energy firm that partnered with Rolls-Royce to develop a fuel design for small modular reactors (SMRs). Westinghouse has generations of experience designing and manufacturing fuel in the UK(full article source google)
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