Rolls-Royce in the U.K. has recently announced a new type of nuclear reactor that could power a future lunar colony. The mini reactor is about three feet wide and ten feet long. It is not yet able to produce any electricity. It will take about six years and a few million dollars to prepare it for its first space trip.
The U.K. Space Agency awarded Rolls-Royce three million and seven hundred thousand dollars in March of this year to fund the development of the potentially groundbreaking Moon technology. A mockup of the new reactor was revealed at the U.K. Space Conference in Belfast last month.
Abi Clayton is the director of future programs at Rolls-Royce. He said in a statement last Friday, "This funding has enabled crucial research and development of technologies that bring us closer to making the Micro-Reactor a reality. Our Space Micro-Reactor Concept Model allows us to demonstrate how this technology will bring immense benefits for both space and Earth.”
The reactor will utilize nuclear fission which is the same process that allows Earth-based nuclear power plants to generate electricity. Most lunar missions, including the rovers recently launched by China and India, have used solar power as an energy source. However, that strategy has obvious limitations since the surface of the Moon facing the Earth is plunged into darkness for two weeks every month. Russia’s 1970 Lunokhod rovers also relied on solar power. NASA’s Apollo missions utilized hydrogen fuel cells to power the pioneering human Moon landings.
A simpler and less potent source of nuclear power used in space missions are radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) Those nuclear batteries rely on the natural process of nuclear decay. Less stable nuclei change into more stable nuclei over time, releasing energy in the process. RTGs last a long time but they do not produce enough power to keep a crewed space mission supplied with necessary electricity and heat. The process of nuclear fission splits larger atomic nuclei into smaller nuclei. This reaction produces much more energy than simple radioactive decay. However, it requires an external source of energy to kick-start the reaction.
The new Moon reactor will have a modular design according to Rolls-Royce. These new reactors will have many possible uses on Earth.
Clayton said, “Micro-Reactor technology will deliver the capability to support commercial and defense use cases alongside providing a solution to decarbonize industry and provide clean, safe and reliable energy.”
Rolls-Royce engineers are currently investigating methods that will allow the heat generated by the reactor through nuclear fission to be converted into electricity. In conventional nuclear reactors, the heat from fission boils water. The steam is then used to turn a turbine to generate electricity. Such a system might be a little too complex for a piece of technology used in space.
" Paul Bate is the chief executive of the U.K. Space Agency. He said, “This innovative research by Rolls-Royce could lay the groundwork for powering continuous human presence on the moon, while enhancing the wider U.K. space sector, creating jobs and generating further investment.”