Space-qualified nuclear reactor could pave way for manned lunar outpost

The small fission system developed through the group’s so-called Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) project is claimed to be capable of providing up to 10 kilowatts of electrical power continuously for at least 10 years.

The prototype system uses a solid, cast uranium-235 reactor core, about the size of a paper towel roll. Passive sodium heat pipes transfer reactor heat to high-efficiency Stirling engines, which convert the heat to electricity.

According to Marc Gibson, lead Kilopower engineer at NASA’s Glenn research centre in Cleveland, Ohio, the system could be used to help establish an outpost on the Moon where power generation from sunlight is difficult because of the long lunar nights.

“Kilopower gives us the ability to do much higher power missions, and to explore the shadowed craters of the Moon,” said Gibson. “When we start sending astronauts for long stays on the Moon and to other planets, that’s going to require a new class of power that we’ve never needed before.”