America wants to build a nuclear power plant on the moon. According to NASA and the Department of Energy, they will soon be soliciting suggestions from industry players for the ambitious project. The US wants to achieve this feat by 2027. They believe that building a nuclear power plant will aid future exploration programs. It will support the space agency’s goal of maintaining the moon’s presence and planning human exploration of space and Mars. In particular, the plan to build a nuclear power plant on the moon was also mentioned in a memorandum previously signed by Donald Trump. It is planned to build a 10-kilowatt class splitting network.
The system is only installed on the ground. It is tested on the earth’s surface to make sure it works properly on the lunar surface. It is then integrated into a lunar lander. A launcher brings the system to the moon. As soon as it touches the surface of the moon, the system starts operating without any additional work. The system will play a key role in determining the success of human exploration of Mars and space in the future. NASA said it is working with the Idaho National Laboratory to carry out the plan. INL is a nuclear research facility. The aim is to implement the project over the next six years.
Moon is very rich in helium-3. He3 is gas. It could be used as a fuel in nuclear fusion power plants in the future. He3 is present in small quantities on earth. But it is available in sufficient quantities on the moon. It has the potential to be used as fuel to generate energy on the moon. The US is studying the material that will be used as fuel for nuclear fusion to produce energy. In the meantime, NASA plans several short-term contracts with industry experts to develop a preliminary design. The moon is the only natural satellite the earth has. It is the closest celestial object to the planet. It remains the only object in space that humans have previously traveled to.