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Rolls-Royce has just announced that it has secured funding for research by Rolls-Royce into how nuclear power could be used to support a future Moon base for astronauts.

Scientists and engineers at Rolls-Royce are working on the Micro-Reactor program to develop technology that will provide power needed for humans to live and work on the Moon. All space missions depend on a power source, to support systems for communications, life-support and science experiments. Nuclear power has the potential to dramatically increase the duration of future Lunar missions and their scientific value.
Minister of State at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, George Freeman, said: “Space exploration is the ultimate laboratory for so many of the transformational technologies we need on Earth: from materials to robotics, nutrition, cleantech and much more.
“As we prepare to see humans return to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, we are backing exciting research like this lunar modular reactor with Rolls-Royce to pioneer new power sources for a lunar base.
Relatively small and lightweight compared to other power systems, a nuclear micro-reactor could enable continuous power regardless of location, available sunlight, and other environmental conditions.
The potential applications of Rolls-Royce Micro-Reactor technology are wide-ranging and could support commercial and defense use cases in addition to those in space. The aim is to create a world-leading power and propulsion capability for multiple markets and operator needs, alongside a clean, green and long-term power source.
The partnership with Rolls-Royce comes after the UK Space Agency recently announced £51 million of funding available for UK companies to develop communication and navigation services for missions to the Moon, as part of the European Space Agency’s Moonlight program, which aims to launch a constellation of satellites into orbit around the Moon.
This will allow future astronauts, rovers, science experiments and other equipment to communicate, share large amounts of data including high-definition video, and navigate safely across the lunar surface.
https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/our-stories/discover/2023/uk-space-agency-backs-rolls-royce-nuclear-power-for-moon-exploration.aspx

AR #68

“Hidden Agenda?”

by John Kettler

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have uncovered critical new details about fusion facilities that use lasers to compress the fuel that produces fusion energy. The new data could help lead to the improved design of future laser facilities that harness the fusion process that drives the sun and stars.

Fusion combines light elements in the form of plasma — the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei — that generates massive amounts of energy. Scientists are seeking to replicate fusion on Earth for a virtually inexhaustible supply of power to generate electricity.

Major experimental facilities include tokamaks, the magnetic fusion devices that PPPL studies; stellarators, the magnetic fusion machines that PPPL also studies and have recently become more widespread around the world; and laser devices used in what are called inertial confinement experiments.

The researchers explored the impact of adding tungsten metal, which is used to make cutting tools and lamp filaments, to the outer layer of plasma fuel pellets in inertial confinement research. They found that tungsten boosts the performance of the implosions that cause fusion reactions in the pellets. The tungsten helps block heat that would prematurely raise the temperature at the center of the pellet.

The research team confirmed the findings by making measurements using krypton gas, sometimes used in fluorescent lamps. Once added to the fuel, the gas emitted high-energy light known as X-rays that was captured by an instrument called a high-resolution X-ray spectrometer. The X-rays conveyed clues about what was happening inside the capsule.
“I was excited to see that we could make these unprecedented measurements using the technique we have been developing these past few years. This information helps us evaluate the pellet’s implosion and helps researchers calibrate their computer simulations,” said PPPL physicist Lan Gao, lead author of the paper reporting the results in Physical Review Letters. “Better simulations and theoretical understanding in general can help researchers design better future experiments.”

The scientists performed the experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a DOE user facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The facility shines 192 lasers onto a gold cylinder, or hohlraum, that is one centimeter tall and encases the fuel. The laser beams heat the hohlraum, which radiates X-rays evenly onto the fuel pellet within.

https://www.pppl.gov/news/2022/uncovering-novel-way-bring-earth-energy-powers-sun-and-stars