NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project is in its final phase and plans to demonstrate and use a fission surface power system on the moon by 2030. The project’s goal is to develop safe, clean, and reliable energy sources for the moon.

The project’s initial phase began in 2022 and included three $5 million contracts to commercial partners to develop fission reactor designs. The three companies that received Phase 1 contracts in 2022 are: 

• Westinghouse Electric Company, Pennsylvania 
• Lockheed Martin, Maryland 
• X, a joint venture of Intuitive Machines and X-Energy, Texas The project’s design, fabrication, and testing will involve collaboration with DOE and industry. The fission reactor could be used during a future demonstration on the Moon and to inform future designs for Mars

The idea is to develop concepts for a small nuclear fission reactor to generate electricity on the lunar surface. The project just finished its initial phase (which began in 2022), which consisted of three $5 million contracts to commercial partners to develop fission reactor designs

NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project is developing concepts for a small nuclear fission reactor that can generate electricity on the moon. The project’s goal is to develop safe, clean, and reliable energy sources for the moon. 

The project’s initial phase began in 2022 with three contracts to commercial partners to develop fission reactor designs. The project plans to collaborate with DOE and industry to design, fabricate, and test a 40-kilowatt class fission power system by the early 2030s. 

The project’s concept designs could be ready to launch by the end of the decade for a demonstration on the moon. The technology could also help with future exploration under the Artemis umbrella.

Fission surface power systems use fission to generate heat and electricity. The process involves splitting large atomic nuclei into smaller nuclei to release energy

In a nuclear reactor, fission occurs when a large nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei, releasing energy and neutrons. The heat generated from this process is used to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity. 

In 1938, fission was first discovered and is the driving force behind nuclear power. Nuclear reactions release a large amount of energy compared to chemical reactions. One fission event releases about 200 MeV of energy, or about 3.2 ´ 10-11 watt-seconds

Both fission and fusion are nuclear reactions that produce energy. However, the processes are very different: 

• Fission A heavy, unstable nucleus splits into two lighter nuclei. Nuclear fission is the process that powers nuclear power plants. 
• Fusion Two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus. Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear fusion reactions power the Sun and other stars. The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei. The leftover mass becomes energy

Nuclear reactors use fission to generate heat and electricity. A nuclear reactor is a device that can control and initiate nuclear fission or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear power plants use nuclear fission, and most use uranium atoms

Nuclear reactors operate on the principle of nuclear fission, which is when a heavy nucleus splits into two smaller fragments. The nuclear fragments emit neutrons, other subatomic particles, and photons. 

Nuclear reactors are the heart of a nuclear power plant. They contain and control nuclear chain reactions that produce heat through fission. The heat is used to make steam that spins a turbine to create electricity. 

Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion

NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project is a lunar nuclear project that aims to demonstrate and use a fission surface power system on the moon by the early 2030s. The project’s initial phase has recently wrapped up, with NASA working on a Phase 2 solicitation for 2025. 

The project’s concept designs include a small, electricity-generating nuclear fission reactor that can produce 40 kilowatts (kW) of electrical power. The reactor will use low-enriched uranium and weigh no more than 13,200 pounds (6,000 kilograms). The power could be used for demonstration purposes, lunar habitats, rovers, backup grids, or science experiments. 

The project is also expected to be used on Mars. If successful, the technology could be adapted for use on Mars.

Nuclear power is important for a variety of space applications, including lunar missions and probes to other planets. Nuclear systems can operate in harsh environments or where solar or chemical energy is impractical or impossible. 

Here are some other reasons why NASA might want to put a nuclear power plant on the moon:

• Constant power Fission reactors can provide constant power, unlike solar panels, which can’t work during the long lunar nights or underground. 
• Reliable source of power Astronauts will need a reliable source of power while on the moon. 
• Compact and lightweight The systems NASA is asking companies to design would be compact and lightweight. 
• Provide abundant power Fission surface power can provide abundant and continuous power regardless of environmental conditions on the Moon.

The moon’s surface contains two potential fission fuels: uranium and thorium. Both can be used as fertile material to breed directly fissionable material. The nearside of the moon is enriched in radioactive elements, including thorium, potassium, and uranium. 

The moon’s high energy density of nuclear fuels could make it more economical to import suitable fuels from Earth rather than producing them in situ. 

The moon also contains helium-3, an isotope that is known since 1988 to be useful for nuclear fusion. Helium-3 is a rare isotope on Earth, but it is abundant on the moon. The moon has been bombarded with large quantities of helium-3 by the solar wind. It is thought that this isotope could provide safer nuclear energy in a fusion reactor.

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