Rolls-Royce micro-reactor could power a space base on the moon

Record ID: 1701038

  • Title: Rolls-Royce micro-reactor could power a space base on the moon
  • Date: 6th December 2022
  • Summary: LEICESTER, ENGLAND, UK (NOVEMBER 30, 2022) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABI CLAYTON, DIRECTOR OF FUTURE PROGRAMMES, SAYING: “So really, we're looking at how do you get, not only to the moon, but actually to Mars? If you think about Mars, it’s a really, really long way away. So it can take up to 18 months effectively to travel to Mars using conventional types of fuels. If we use the power of nuclear to do that, you can probably cut that to around a three month period to travel to Mars so it actually makes that planet more accessible for us to actually go and explore, make sure that you can do experiments there, but again also work out, can humans get to Mars? And that's certainly the plan by 2040, as a target out there, to get humans on Mars.”
  • Embargoed: 20th December 2022 09:19
  • Keywords: Artemis Mars Nuclear micro-reactor Rolls-Royce Space moon base power plant
  • Location: LEICESTER, ENGLAND, UK / MOON / IN SPACE / AT SEA
  • City: LEICESTER, ENGLAND, UK / MOON / IN SPACE / AT SEA
  • Country: UK
  • Topics: Europe,Science,Space Exploration
  • Reuters ID: LVA008452405122022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Rolls-Royce says it is designing a nuclear micro-reactor, a new classification of reactor, that could power NASA’s planned base on the Moon and provide, power, heat and propulsion for any future trip to Mars.
    The British engineering firm is famous for its jet engines, but it has also spent more than 60 years quietly building the power plants for the UK’s fleet of nuclear submarines, experience it hopes will help it compete in the new space race.
    “Space has dealt with watts and milliwatts to-date, but if we're going to sustain human life and a habitat on the moon, and also utilise the resources on the moon, then you need more power,” Professor Gary Jones, Head of Manufacturing Innovation at Rolls Royce, told Reuters.
    “You need kilowatts through to megawatts and that's where new products such as micro-reactors would come to play,” Jones said.
    NASA plans to establish a base on the moon as a stepping stone for eventual human expeditions to Mars.
    The base will allow astronauts to learn the skills needed for deep space missions which could require us to source or make essentials, including fuel and oxygen, in space.
    “It’s a really, really long way away,” Abi Clayton, Rolls-Royce Director of Future Programmes, told Reuters.
    “It can take up to 18 months effectively to travel to Mars using conventional types of fuels. If we use the power of nuclear to do that, you can probably cut that to around a three month period to travel to Mars so it actually makes that planet more accessible,” she said.
    Micro-reactors designed for space will have considerable uses on Earth, the company says, including providing heat, power or propulsion in any remote, moving or hostile environment.
    “There are many applications for terrestrial mobile reactor. It can be used for disaster relief,” Jones said.
    “You could also replace diesel electric generators to help de-carbonise a multitude of applications on Earth. And you could also use it as a main power train for shipping, for example.”
    Rolls-Royce say they plan to have a prototype micro-reactor operating by the end of 2028.
    (Production: Stuart McDill)
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