Posted on 11/20/2021 7:57:38 AM PST by BenLurkin
Submitted plans for the fission surface power system should include a uranium-fueled reactor core, a system to convert the nuclear power into usable energy, a thermal management system to keep the reactor cool, and a distribution system providing no less than 40 kilowatts of continuous electric power for 10 years in the lunar environment.
Some other requirements include that it be capable of turning itself off and on without human help, that it be able to operate from the deck of a lunar lander, and that it can be removed from the lander and run on a mobile system and be transported to a different lunar site for operation.
Additionally, when launched from Earth to the moon, it should fit inside a 12-foot (4-meter) diameter cylinder that's 18 feet (6 meters) long. It should not weigh more than 13,200 pounds (6,000 kilograms).
The proposal requests are for an initial system design and must be submitted by Feb. 19.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Talk to gates. Heard he’s kicking in halfsies to build a new nuke in Kemmemer Wyoming.
Why not solar? Would that not work, or somehow be inefficient?
Sarcasm aside though, wouldn’t a reactor in such a location be a massive and endeavor in terms of building, running, and maintaining it though?
The greenies will be up there protesting in space suits - they’ll call it a “fragile lunar environment.”
Wouldn’t wind power be better?🤓
What could possibly go wrong?
Not a bad idea, out wind turbines on the moon and maybe nimby liberals wouldn’t be compelled to move there.
If we put wind turbines on one side of the moon, would Hank Johnson be concerned about it tipping mover or altering its orbit?
Gravity inequality, would become a thing overnight.
Here is an idea... WHY?
Not one taxpayer dollar needs to be spent on dumb ass ideas like this.
It would. The power in the solar wind is “astronomical.”
LENR. NASA is already looking into it.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3981739/posts
U.S. has too many regulations, which make it cost prohibitive.
Except at the poles, on the lunar surface you have 2 weeks of sunlight, followed by 2 weeks of night. So your solar panels would need a heavy set of batteries.
Various space craft use a form of nuclear fission to generate energy. I don’t know if they can scale that for use on the moon, but I think it wouldn’t be hard to design something that didn’t require human monitoring or intervention to function.
One side of the Moon is dark half the lunar month as the Moon orbits the Earth. Solar isn’t going to work on the surface. Fission reactors would be more practical. You’re going to need lots of energy to be able to recycle air & water to a higher degree than a nuke submarine currently does.
An equatorial, belt of solar panels would be a cool idea for a sci Fi story, but not practical now.
I can see Elon Musk doing something like this.
You’ll kill all the plants there. Why not build a pipeline instead, so that the caribou can stay warm on the dark side of the moon?
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