WASHINGTON, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA and the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have successfully demonstrated a new nuclear reactor power system that could enable long-duration crewed missions to the Moon, Mars and destinations beyond. From November 2017 to March this year, NASA and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have been conducting an experiment in Nevada to see how a nuclear reactor would fare with long-term use in adverse conditions.The reactor NASA tested is called Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY). “We want a power source that can handle extreme environments,” James Reuter, administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, said: "When we go to the Moon and eventually on to Mars, we are likely going to need large power sources not dependent on the Sun.” NASA has been testing the technology along with experts from the US Department of Energy and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Kilopower is a small, lightweight fission power system capable of providing up to 10 kilowatts of electrical power – enough to run several average households – continuously for at least 10 years. According to NASA, four Kilopower units would be enough to provide sufficient electrical energy in order to establish a lunar or a Martian outpost. On moon where nights are equal to 14 Earth days, the reactor could come handy enabling astronomers to explore shadowed craters, while on Mars it could provide power during prolonged "sunlight-reducing" dust storms or enable landing at high-northern latitudes where ice might be present. “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.” The prototype power 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 the space the agency.Being small and powerful, the system could be easily transported to the Moon, where when deployed it will be capable of generating power without having to rely on the sun. The purpose of the recent experiment in Nevada was two-fold: to demonstrate that the system can create electricity with fission power, and to show the system is stable and safe no matter what environment it encounters, said David Poston of National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos National Laboratory.
NASA announces it has completed its first full-power test of the Kilopower nuclear reactor for space. NASA intends to use the technology to power exploration missions to the Moon and Mars.