How Rolls-Royce plans to power Nasa's moon base
Rolls-Royce has been busy building this nuclear micro-reactor. It’s a whole new classification of reactor and one the company says could eventually provide power for Nasa’s planned base on the moon.
“We are in a new space race, there's a lot of commercial opportunities but also agencies having aspirations to go to the moon, stay there and beyond," Matthew Marriott, Rolls-Royce engineer said.
‘’So what we're looking at here is a scale model of our micro-reactor core system.’
Perhaps better known for its engines, British engineering firm, Rolls-Royce has spent more than 60 years quietly building the power plants for the UK’s fleet of nuclear submarines…
The experience it hopes will help it compete in the new space race, according to engineer Matthew Marriott.
“There's a lot of commercial opportunities but also agencies having aspirations to go to the moon, stay there and beyond. And, really in order for everyone to do that they need power and reliable power. There are power options in space, solar electricity being a good opportunity. But there are instances where solar isn't a viable option. It can't deliver you the power that you need for space. So this product, that is sat here behind me, will enable all of these companies to realise their ambitions in space.”
NASA plans to establish a base on the moon as a stepping stone for eventual human expeditions to Mars.
Astronauts would go there to learn the skills needed for deep space missions.
Sustaining human life and habitat on the moon requires a serious amount of power…
which is where products like micro-reactors come into play.
‘’Two years ago, if you'd said to me, we'll be looking at designing reactors to go on the moon, I'd have said that you were absolutely barking and it was a crazy idea. ‘’
Abi Clayton is Director for Future Programs at Rolls-Royce.
“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.”
Micro-reactors designed for space will also have plenty of uses on Earth too, says Gary Jones, head of manufacturing innovation.
"It can be used for disaster relief. So you can actually transport one of these systems within a short timeframe, hours rather than weeks to re-establish a grid, and then you could have power from a box that would really help disaster relief. You could also replace diesel-electric generators to help decarbonize a multitude of applications on Earth. And you could also use it as the main power train for shipping for example.”
Rolls-Royce says they plan to have a prototype micro-reactor operating by the end of 2028.
