According to SpaceNews Sept. 2, NASA and the Department of Energy are requesting proposals from industry to develop “a compact nuclear power system that can support the agency’s long-term lunar and Martian exploration plans.” NASA is seeking development of a 10 kW fission power system that could be placed on the Moon as soon as 2027, comparable to plans for production of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) of 50-70 MW for economic development on Earth. The purpose is power for long-term lunar surface activities, especially during the two-week night which rules out solar panels. An Aug. 20 statement from DOE said 10 kW “will be enough to power a portion of the infrastructure and equipment needed by astronauts on the lunar surface.”
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems reported Sept. 9: “General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that it has delivered a design concept of a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) reactor to power future astronaut missions to Mars for a NASA-funded study. The study, managed by Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA), explored a design space defined by key performance parameters as well as figures of merit. The GA-EMS design exceeded the key performance parameters and optimized the NTP reactor for manufacturability, the highest ranked figure of merit.”
