The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has set December 2030 as the target date for preparing a reactor to be installed near the Moon’s south pole.
China and Russia have also announced plans to build lunar reactors by 2036.
The competition to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon is less a competition over giant power stations than a question of whether electricity can be supplied continuously to a long-term habitation base.
3-line summary
1. Lunar reactors are a concept for supplying power to a base
2. The US target is 20㎾, while China and Russia’s is 10㎾
3. Both plans are still before construction
The Moon’s 2-week nights are the problem
It is difficult to obtain stable power on the Moon using solar power alone. Articles citing supporting sources point out that the lunar night lasts for more than 2 weeks, potentially halting solar power generation. Current lunar exploration rovers—that is, vehicles that travel across the lunar surface—use solar power and radioisotope power generation, among other systems, but the explanation is that facilities intended to operate for a long time, such as a permanent base, need a more consistent power source.
Reactors are being discussed because they can produce electricity for years regardless of whether sunlight is available. Power is needed to obtain drinking water and oxygen from water ice and to operate base equipment, so reactors are also connected to competition over securing resources. The key to lunar reactors is not moving a large terrestrial nuclear power plant to the Moon as-is, but testing whether a small facility that can be carried on a rocket can supply power to a base.
The US has proposed 2030, while China and Russia have proposed 2036
According to articles citing a New York Times report, NASA asked contractors to prepare a reactor capable of operating near the Moon’s south pole by December 2030. The conditions are that it must be transportable into space and capable of operating for more than 5 years without maintenance. The target generating capacity was presented as 20㎾, and the articles described it as roughly the level of electricity used by 16 US households.
China and Russia have drawn up plans to build and operate for 10 years a 10㎾-class lunar reactor called “Selena” by 2036. The US’s 20㎾ and China and Russia’s 10㎾ are both understood not as figures intended to create a large-scale power grid, but as a scale for validating power sources for lunar bases.
However, these dates are goals announced by the respective countries, not results whose operation has been confirmed. Critics have pointed out that no reactor has yet been installed in a low-gravity environment, and that a lander capable of placing heavy radioactive materials on the lunar surface remains a challenge.
The power competition does not eliminate safety concerns
The plan’s difficulties do not begin only after reaching the lunar surface. Concerns have been raised that if a rocket explodes during launch or an accident occurs during transport, nuclear material could be released on Earth or into space. Some have also pointed out that it is difficult to install sufficient containment structures on the Moon, as is done at nuclear power plants on Earth.
The United States and Russia are reportedly planning to keep the nuclear fuel in an unirradiated state until the reactor reaches the Moon, reducing the risk of radioactive leakage during transport. However, this is a policy intended to lower the risk; it does not mean that the safety issues involved in launch, transport, and installation have been resolved.
The point to watch in the lunar reactor competition is not which country announced its target year first, but whether small reactors can actually supply power reliably to a lunar base. What has been confirmed so far is the competition’s plans and capacity targets; actual installation and long-term operation on the Moon have not yet taken place.
References
Tags #Moon #LunarNuclearPower #LunarReactor #NASA #NationalAeronauticsAndSpaceAdministration #LunarSouthPole #Selena #ChinaRussia #SpaceReactor #LunarBase #SpaceDevelopment #NuclearPowerGeneration #LunarExploration